A Symphony of Sword and Soul
by Ryu Juini
Summary: After the thrilling, epic battle with Altima, Ramza's name slowly faded from history. Why was that, though? Just where did he go after Olan last saw him and Alma? [Some Spoilers, based off of FFT's story. WARNING: It get's a bit intense here on out!]
1. Chapter 1: The Aftermath

Disclaimer: Feh. I don't own any of this besides possibly any OC's I may introduce for the sake of story, you know? But other than that, naw. Thank SquareSoft/SquareEnix for the amazing characters.

A/N: The story is set just after the victory against Altima, when she decides she's going to go supernova on everyone and a BIG BOOM occurs. This is the story after that, well, you know, in a fanfictioney kind of way.

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The stars were exceptionally bright this night. Ramza Beoulve, the unknown hero of the Lion War, sat quietly by a small, burning campfire. He slowly raised a hand to casually move his bangs from his view of the stars, sighing heavily. The blonde boy closed his eyes slowly, remembering what happened just a few weeks ago...

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Ramza lead his surviving friends and team members through the burning wreckage of the underground area of Murond. He struggled to hold back tears of pain and sorrow, holding his sister Alma's hand fiercely as he ran. Ramza turned his head back quickly, looking at each of his friends with a smile. "Don't ANY of you dare stop running, damnit! We'll make it out of here alive, each of us! If you fall over, I'll turn around and drag you by your hair! We can't die here! We can't let Orlandu's sacrifice be in vain!" he yelled, turning his head quickly to keep focused on the burning, collapsing passageway.

Cidolfas Orlandu died a hero that day, using his body and his mastery of the sword arts as a shield for his friends. Altima thought she'd have the last laugh if she obliderated the heroes, but Orlandu made sure that would not be the case. Orlandu's last, dying wish was to tell his adopted son, Olan Durai, that he died a hero, protecting those he loved.

Ramza swore he'd keep that promise, no matter what. As Ramza lead his friends higher and higher out of the basement of Murond, Ramza felt a sudden pain in his chest. Something wasn't right. Ramza stopped, turning and grabbing Mustadio's arm, putting Alma's hand in his. "Get her out of here. Don't ask any questions either. All of you keep going!" Ramza said, a firm, almost scary, voice backing up his words.

Mustadio grinned, nodding. "You haven't lead us wrong yet, or lied to us, Ramza. Come on, Alma, let's go before your brother has that damn robot blow me up again." Mustadio said with a smile, taking Alma with him as he ran, despite her obvious protests. "Let go of me! Ramza! Brother Ramza! RAMZA!" she screamed as she disappeared up the stairwell.

Ramza looked back downwards, observing as the airship remains burned away. He tilted his head backwards, sighing heavily. "Why did you stay? I'm not planning on running back or anything, I just had to make sure the bitch was really dead." he said, wiping his brow slowly.

Agrias Oaks stood behind Ramza, letting slip a rare smile, something the young man was one of few to experience. "Because you've done stupid things before that somehow manage to work out, I had to make sure you didn't do something stupid alone." she said, calmly moving next to him and looking downwards. "He gave it to you, didn't he?" she asked, turning her head to look at Ramza's sword belt.

Ramza slowly nodded, taking grasp of the legendary sword at his side, the Sword of Kings, Excalibur. "Yeah. He told me that if anyone deserved to wield it, it would be me. Funny, I have no intention of being a ruler. I'm sure Ovelia can handle it well enough. Agrias, thank you...I'm not sure how far I would have gotten if you and everyone else weren't there to support me. I..." he was interrupted as a gloved finger touched his lips, the Holy Knight looking at him closely. "Now isn't the time, Ramza. We should get going before we die." she said, taking his hand in her's and running up the decaying stairway.

Ramza held back a smile for the moment, focusing on making sure he survived to see daylight again. The earth would rumble and shake violently, the stairwell suddenly collapsing at an alarming rate. "Shit!" Agrias yelled suddenly, grabbing Ramza by both arms and suddenly throwing him. Ramza twisted his body in mid air, turning and grabbing the Holy Knight's arm as she suddenly fell through the stairway. Ramza kept a grip on her hand and on the remaining part of the stairway, grunting heavily as he tried to pull them both up.

Agrias looked down at the bottomless pit, slowly turning her gaze up at Ramza. "Ramza, let go. You can't pull us both up and you know it. You can't die here, Ramza. Alma needs you, you're all she has left now. Let me go." she said, her voice as steadfast as ever.

Ramza looked down at her, shaking his head. "Shut the hell up, Agrias! We lost Orlandu, and I'll be DAMNED to hell if I lose you!" he screamed, mustering everything he could to slowly begin to lift himself, and the Holy Knight, up.

"Ramza, we're going to fall! Let me go!" Agrias demanding, going as far as lifting her other arm and starting to wrestle herself from Ramza's grasp. Ramza tightened his grip on her hand, turning towards her again, his face having a cold, almost deathly serious look. "Agrias, if you try that again, I swear I'll be following straight after you with this damn sword!".

Agrias looked at the young man, her face in a state of shock. She looked away, a tear slowly forming and sliding down her beautiful face. "You're an idiot, Ramza." she said quietly. Ramza struggled and looked up, his strength giving out as the two slowly began to fall.

"PRIORITY SET: MISSION ACCEPTED." shot through both of their ears as a cold pair of metal hands grabbed the two falling heroes, pulling them up. Worker 8 firmly held them both as it began to run, accelerating quickly up the stairway. Ramza sighed heavily, punching the robot over the head. "Why the hell does no one listen to me?!" he said, half pissed, but half happy. The robot continued charging up the stairwell, responding. "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. SIR MUSTADIO ORDERED THE RESCUE OF SIR RAMZA. SIR RAMZA IS THE MASTER. THE MASTER SHALL FALL TO NO HARM." Ramza sighed heavily, turning and grinning at Agrias. "Fall literally, huh?" he said, Agrias shooting him an annoyed look.

Worker 8 shot out of the 'Holy Place' at an alarming speed, immediately running Mustadio over. Worker 8 stopped suddenly, letting Agrias and Ramza down with a 'plop'. Ramza slowly turned his head as he watched the church shutter and shake, suddenly collapsing on top of itself and sinking down into the ground. "Damn, kind of ironic it happened again." he said, getting a few dirty looks from his friends.

Mustadio, after brushing himself off, slowly walked over to Ramza, sighing. "You know, Alma wouldn't stop pulling my hair until we had someone go and rescue you. So the big guy over there kind of flared to life and charged down after you. It was kind of funny, in a way." he said, scratching his head slowly. "You were probably better off dying down there, though. Alma's going to kill you now." he added, but too little to late. Alma was already on top of her brother, pinching his cheeks and pulling on them.

"You jerk! How could you DO that! You could have DIED! If the...whatever that is didn't go down there and save you, I'd have lost all three of my brothers!" she screamed, punching him in the chest a few times. Ramza grunted, shaking his hands in defense. "But I HAD to check to make sure she was dead! You don't want to get possessed by a floating scantily-clad woman again, do you?!" he said, trying to escape. Alma sighed heavily, glaring at him coldly. "I won't forgive you, Brother Ramza, unless..." she trailed off, in thought.

Ramza blinked slowly, looking up at his sister with a tilted head. "Unless...?" he asked, fearing the worse. Alma slowly stood up, helping Ramza up and immediately circling around him, pointing. "Lose. The. Butt. Pants." she said, pointing directly at the odd piece of armor Ramza wore.

Ramza sighed heavily as a sudden burst of laughter arose from everyone around him. He shook his fist in the air, pointing all around. "KNOCK IT OFF!" he yelled, sighing and nodding his head. "Okay, okay. I get the point. Bad choice in armaments. Look, I have something important to say, so we'll discuss my 'Butt Pants' later." Ramza finished, which set off another chain reaction of laughter.

After a few minutes of humiliation at Ramza's expense, Ramza sat everyone down.

Mustadio Bunanza, the curious, intelligent, and strong willed engineer of Goug.

Agrias Oaks, one of the few true and good Holy Knight's of Ivalice, and a close companion.

Alma Beoulve, Ramza's sister and wielder of exceptional healing arts.

Rafa and Malak Galthana, the Heaven and Hell assassin's.

Meliadoul Tingel, a Divine Knight and loyal ally of Ramza.

Rad, an ally and friend of Ramza from his mercenary days.

Alicia and Lavian, strong knights and loyal companions of Agrias.

Beowulf Kadmus, a Temple Knight and lover of Reis Dular, a mysterious girl with the power of Dragons.

Worker 8, Ramza's personal Steel Giant and all around muscle.

Cloud Strife, the mysterious SOLDIER from another world.

Byblos, the quiet, friendly creature found deep within the...Deep Dungeon, whom decided to follow Ramza after their epic battle against Elidibs.

Last, but not least, one of the most feared allies of Ramza and company, Boco, Ramza's loyal Chocobo and all around friendly member of the group.

Ramza smiled softly, nodding at each one of them. He sighed heavily, lifting his head up slowly. "I don't want any of you speaking a word of any of this to anyone. In fact, it'd be best if we left the region entirely and moved on further north or east. While I know most of you may object to this, what we've experienced would send Ivalice into a state of chaos. I don't care if I'm a hero or not, I've done my part. You're free to do whatever you wish, though, but do realize the Church will not take very kindly to any of us now, and you may be killed. If you're with me, meet me fifty miles east of Zeltennia, three weeks from today. Otherwise, leave Ivalice in your own way or else..." he ended quietly, looking down at the ground.

The laughter had ceased, and smiles turned to frowns. Ramza stood slowly, walking way from the group. He turned slowly. "I ask this, if you'll be joining me, step over here. If not, remain seated. I will not think any more or less of you regardless of your decision, but I beg of you, please leave Ivalice. I don't want anyone else to die..." Ramza finished, fighting hard to hold back his tears.

Without question, Alma stood and went next to her brother, hugging him tightly. "I have nothing left here, brother. I'll go with you wherever you go." she said, smiling lovingly. Ramza nodded slowly, wiping away a stray tear. Boco stood and preened himself, going over to Ramza and cooing, nuzzling against his head gently. Ramza raised a hand to slowly pet the loyal chocobo, nodding. "Anyone else?" he asked calmly, looking at his dear friends.

Mustadio stood next, stretching and sighing. "I'm all for it, Ramza, but let me head back to Goug first. I can't leave my dad in the dark, you know? Also, we need to get Cloud here back home. I'm sure you wouldn't mind." he said, grinning as he gestured to the SOLDIER. Cloud slowly nodded his head, remaining seated. "Besides, I'm sure my dad would want to go too. We've heard rumors of some pretty interesting stuff to be digged up in the Far East..." Mustadio finished, rubbing his chin.

Ramza nodded his head slowly, smiling a bit more. Worker 8 was at Ramza's side soon after, not saying a word. Beowulf slowly stood, helping Reis up as well. "We'll be returning home, Ramza. We'll be glad to see you off though, but we won't be joining you, at least not on your way. We may see you around, though." Beowulf finished, looking at Reis and nodding. Reis looked at Ramza and smiled, bowing her head gently, and saying quietly. "Thank you, Ramza..." which came to a shock to everyone, as Reis hadn't spoken in public at all since she was restored to her true form. Ramza felt choked up again, but held it all back and nodded.

Byblos remained seated, tilting it's head curious. It scratched it's head, seemingly thinking of the possibilities. Byblos had no friends other than these strange people it had joined with. The 'leader', it acknowledged, was kind and gentle. The bird was a good source of conversation, and would be a shame to not have around. Byblos stood, slowly walking towards Ramza. It looked up at Ramza, questioning him.

Ramza slowly kneeled down, a hand gently placed on Byblos' head. "You stick out like a sore thumb, but I promise we'll keep you safe. I hear monsters in general are a bit more accepted in the Far East, so you may be better off. Heck, I've heard of weird creatures called Tonberries there. Maybe we'll dress you up in one of their outfits so you don't stick out, eh?" Ramza said, chuckling quietly. Byblos slapped him across the face with it's tail, slowly going over to Boco and settling down next to the bird, yawning.

Ramza sighed, rubbing his cheek slowly. "Very well. Anyone else?" he asked, looking forward. Meliadoul stood next, looking at Ramza with a slightly flushed face. "R-ramza...as you know, there's no one left here for me either. If I could, may I join you?" she asked, looking down quickly. Ramza smiled, nodding his head. "Of course. I'm offering, so why would I say no?". Meliadoul looked up, a smile covering her face as she went over, bowing her head again. "T-thank you, Ramza..." she said in a whisper, before moving out of the way.

Rafa looked at Malak, who in turn looked at Rafa. Malak coughed, slowly standing. "Well Ramza, as you can tell, we're in the same boat you're in. While we'd love to join you on your next adventure, Rafa and I will be heading east as well, but we've got a goal in mind. We've heard rumors of people with powers similiar to ours in the Far East, so we planned on investigating it sooner or later." he said, looking over at Rafa.

Rafa stood slowly, nodding her head. "That's right, Ramza. We'll be seeing you around, though, I assure you! For now, though, we want to find out the truth." she finished, slowly walking up to Ramza and leaning forward, kissing him gently on the cheek. "Thank you though, for everything." she said, giggling to herself as she moved back to Malak, who rolled his eyes. He knew exactly why she did that, from the obvious expressions on Meliadoul and Agrias' faces, who had trouble hiding their obvious rage and jealously. Even Alma was somewhat steamed at what Rafa just did.

Ramza blushed to himself, coughing and nodding his head. "A-Alright..." he said, regaining himself and slowly turning. Ramza tilted his head towards Rad now, who was looking at Ramza with a stupid look. "You're kidding, right? Come on, Ramza. I've been here through all this crap, I'm coming with you. Besides, you pay for my meals. Free food isn't something you give up, especially when the other option is being burned at the stake or something." he finished, waving a hand passively and flipping calmly through a spell book. Ramza laughed to himself, nodding.

Ramza stared at Agrias, gulping quietly as he gazed at the beautiful Holy Knight. Though he wasn't caught up in just her beauty, which he never noticed just how cute she was while blushing, even slightly, it was the fact her sheer presence effected him somehow.

Agrias slowly stood, walking up to Ramza and staring at him closely. "I'm a Knight of the Church. I have my duties and my responsibilities. I can't be expected to just leave everything behind and join some reckless young man and his friends on some crazy adventure." she said firmly, looking away for a moment, sighing. She smiled, looking at Ramza with that smile. "However, as you can tell, the Church isn't exactly what any of us thought it was anymore, and Ovelia isn't exactly needing my protection anymore. You, however, can use all the protection you can get. You attract danger like cheese attracts a mouse, Ramza. So, if you have room, I suppose I can go...and if Alicia and Lavian wish to come, I hope they are welcome." she finished, her smile fading as she turned to look at the two knights. Both girls were immediately at their feet, bowing.

Ramza sighed, lifting a hand, and gently punching Agrias in the arm. Agrias turned, looking at Ramza with a shocked look on her face. Ramza leaned forward, dangerously close, his bangs brushing against Agrias' forehead. He looked straight into her eyes, his lips barely an inch from her own. Agrias' breath caught up in her throat as she stood, nearly petrified. Ramza slowly opened his mouth, speaking quietly. "Like I told Meliadoul, I'm offering. Now quit acting so tough and let's go." he finished, slowly moving back and smiling.

Agrias didn't move or speak at all, as she was still stunned. Meliadoul was fuming to herself, jealous over how close Ramza was with Agrias all of a sudden. Alma was speechless as well, looking at Ramza like he was possessed. Ramza sighed, turning and looking at everyone. "Then it's settled. Not a word is spoken, and we've all got our paths. Everyone, may luck guide as through whatever obstacle is STUPID enough to stand before any of us. Let's not throw away the lives the Thunder God himself gave it all for." Ramza announced, slowly unsheathing Excalibur and raising the brilliant sword to the sky. "For Orlandu, let us live our lives fully and happily!" he yelled. There were no exceptions from anyone around him, each lifting their respective armament to the sky, cheering in victory.

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Three weeks had passed after that day. Ramza yawned heavily, sitting up and gently poking at the burning fire. He remembered seeing Olan on his way, and spoke to him quite briefly, as well as passing on Orlandu's wish. Ramza had also given Olan the same offer and warning, but Olan insisted on remaining, as well as eventually showing the world Ramza's bravery and heroic actions. Ramza didn't try to convince him otherwise, as he knew Olan was devoted to anything he put himself towards. With a quick goodbye, Ramza knew that would possibly be the last time he ever saw his friend.

Alma sat close to Ramza, leaning on his shoulder, sleeping soundly as she rested against him. Ramza grumbled, having to move Alma with him to keep her from falling over and waking up. He slowly moved himself against the tree behind himself, settling Alma against the tree as well. She mumbled in her sleep, clinging right back onto him. "Stopppit..." was her response to his actions, which made the blonde sigh heavily.

Ramza slowly began to slide out of his jacket, bundling it up quickly and settling Alma down with it, watching his sister cling tightly to the jacket to keep warm. Ramza flashed a grin of victory as he stood, stretching his body and sighing. "I hope I didn't interrupt a family moment." said a voice, Ramza suddenly turning, a hand on the hilt of his sword.

Agrias stood in front of him, her sword already at his neck. Ramza sighed, smiling. "Got me again." he said, admitting defeat. Agrias nodded, sheathing her sword and looking at him. "I should just kill you for what you did before." she said, looking away quickly.

Ramza blinked, tilting his head slowly. He snapped his fingers, grinning. "Oh, right, that. Ha ha, sorry...I just figured you needed some reassuring, that's all." he said, scratching the back of his head, chuckling. Agrias turned, looking at him with a solemn look. "Hmph." was her only response, turning away from the blonde boy.

Ramza sighed heavily, circling around and standing in front of her. "Oh come on, Ags! Don't be pissed at me now." he said, frowning at her. She grumbled, rubbing her forehead slowly. Damn the nickname to the very depths of hell, which they more or less were in before.

Agrias looked up at Ramza, sighing. "Why shouldn't I be? You embarrassed me in front of everyone! I should...should..." she couldn't finish, as Ramza slowly wrapped his arms around her and hugged her gently. The Holy Knight was at a lost for words at how close the stupid, stupid blonde boy was. She slowly raised her arms, slowly wrapping them around Ramza as she returned the hug. Ramza slowly moved his head back, looking straight into her eyes. A blush crept up on both of theirs faces as they slowly leaned forward, their lips brushing ever so slightly...

Until Worker 8 immediately crashed into Ramza, throwing him a good few feet into the air and crashing somewhere. Agrias immediately regained her composure, coughing and looking away. Mustadio stood in front of her, grinning wickedly. "I saw what you did theeeeeeeereeeeeee..." he said. Agrias panicked, immediately drawing her sword and bashing Mustadio over the head. Luckily, the engineer was used to this treatment, and quickly regained himself, retreating. "Sorry! I'm sorry! Blame the robot! BLAME THE ROBOT!" he yelled, running away from the pissed off Holy Knight.

Besrodio stood a few feet away, watching his son being chased by Agrias. He sighed heavily, rubbing his temples calmly. "Well, at least he's got a thick skull. Maybe he'll learn not to scorn women again." he said, looking at Worker 8 and patting the robot on the shoulder. "Go fetch your Master and sit him by the fire. I'm sure he'll need a good night's rest after all this...". Worker 8 nodded, and zoomed off to recover the KO'ed blonde.

Within the hour, Byblos had arrived first of all, immediately going over to the resting Boco and settling down nearby. Alicia and Lavian had arrived around that time as well, having figured a little alone time with Ramza might prove beneficial for Agrias. Sadly, this wasn't quite the case, as they were able to watch Agrias continue to chase Mustaido. Meliadoul arrived soon after that, along with Rad, whom she had bumped into on the way. Rad was too busy laughing to notice anyone else, and Meliadoul was simply confused at what was going on.

Ramza groaned heavily, looking at everyone in a daze. "Omph...it's going to be...one hell of a journey...to..Ordalia..." he managed, before passing back out, snoozing quietly next to Alma.


	2. Chapter 2: New Beginnings

Disclaimer: I still don't own Final Fantasy Tactics.

A/N: Hrm. After doing a bit of research, I realized something! I just got rid of Rafa and Malak very quickly! Oh well, I'm sure everyone else dumped them in the "no use" bin quickly after seeing how badly Truth and Un-Truth sucked. Oh well, let's continue on, shall we?!

Oh, as a note! While I am using the name Ordalia, which was connected to Ivalice in Final Fantasy Tactics, it will more or less be designed by my liking. Simply put, the name Ordalia is being used, but there's no intention of it being the same Ordalia one may know about from Final Fantasy FFXII. Just thought I'd throw that out there. But eh, who knows.

Oh, finally, ---------- scene change or some such nonsense. Figured I'd let ya'll know that. As a heads up, this chapter will have a slightly more mature tone to it, so keep that in mind if you're under 13 and reading this fic, for some reason.

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Total darkness. Pitch black. Ramza looked around slowly, trying to take in any trace amount of his surrondings. Nothing. With a heavy sigh, Ramza lifted himself to his feet, keeping a hand firmly on the hilt of Excalibur. "What the hell is going on here?!" he yelled, his eyes darting around quickly, hoping to have caused some movement by a person or animal.

Ramza groaned heavily, a heavy feeling suddenly striking his abdomen. He fell to his knees, gasping for air as he slowly looked upwards. His eyes widened as before him stood, or rather floated, the leader of Lucavi, Altima. "D-Damnit! I freaking KNEW I should have gone down and made sure you were nothing more than burning remains!" Ramza screamed, unsheathing Excalibur and thrusting the blade upwards.

Altima sighed heavily, catching the blade with her left hand, and quickly disarming the blade from Ramza's grasp with her right. She smiled, which slowly turned into a smirk, as she stared down the unarmed hero. Ramza grit his teeth, moving back slowly. "Just how the hell did you survive? You blew yourself up!" he stated, keeping one of his arms behind his back, gathering a white, magical energy in his palm.

The smirk turned into a grin as she angelic being slowly leaned over, staring Ramza in the face. "You know the funny thing about death? It's so easy to avoid if you've done it as long as I have." she said, taking Ramza by the chin and forcing him into a kiss.

The blonde immediately panicked, shuddering violently as he pulled himself away from Altima, raising the hand he kept behind his back. "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" he screamed, thrusting his hand forward, his palm thrusting violently against Altima's chest. "ULTIMA!" he screamed, the energy he had gathered suddenly exploding in a violent, white light. The sheer power of the spell blasting straight through Altima's form, leaving nothing after the spell subsided. Ramza sighed heavily, wiping his lips off on the sleeve of his jacket.

"Boo." said the angel, biting Ramza's right earlobe gently, a few sucking sounds being heard quite clearly as he felt her lips. Ramza bolted forward, frantically searching for Excalibur. He twisted his body, turning quickly and thrusting his palm out. "ULTIMA!" he yelled again, the white light bursting forward and consuming Altima entirely.

Ramza quickly turned his body to look behind himself, sighing with relief at the lack of female. The sigh suddenly turned into a gargling sound as he felt a pair of breasts pressed firmly against the back of his head, the white haired women leaning over and smiling into his face. "You really should know better than using that spell against me, Ramza. It's only one I've mastered beyond your abilities." she said, cooing quietly as she flipped over him, turning to pin him beneath her.

"Now, Ramza...now that we're alone, it's about time I showed you a few forbidden magiks of my own..." she said slowly, a light blush creeping up on her cheeks as she slowly began to pull off her tight, nearly seductive red outfit. Ramza could only stare in half horror, half curiosity as the nigh-goddess stripped before him.

"Fuck." he managed out, as everything suddenly turned white.

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Ramza shot up immediately, sweat beading down his face as he looked around. He tilted his head as he got a few weird looks from his friends, each of whom were asking themselves questions about the oddness of the blonde. Ramza coughed to himself, sighing heavily. "A-ah...good morning?" he managed out, smiling cheerfully.

Alma sighed, tapping Ramza on the head with a large, wooden spoon. "Brother, if you're going to wake up after screaming so much in your sleep, the least you could do is tell us what made you nearly wet yourself." she finished with a smile. Ramza tilted his head for a moment, sighing heavily after he took a moment to regain himself.

"I know, I know. It was just a nightmare, nothing big. We've all been through a lot of crap recently. I guess it finally caught up to me in my sleep!" he said, laughing to assure his friends that nothing was really wrong.

Mustadio was sitting a short distance away from the group, making sure to keep at least a few good yards between him and Agrias. After last night, he opted to sit in the tree they were camped around. He didn't trust the women at all after he narrowly dodged a series of Holy Explosion's. "If it's alright with you, Ramza, can we get going soon? May as well see how far we can get before nightfall." the engineer said, smiling nervously.

With a quick nod, Ramza stood to his feet, stretching and letting out a loud yawn. "Alright ladies and gentlemen! We're off! If we're lucky, and the terrain and weather stay acceptable, we may be able to reach the border town of Rimlastin by nightfall. Rest in an inn and all that!" he added at the end, nodding firmly.

Agrias sighed heavily, going over to Ramza and patting his shoulder. "You're lucky the Church assumes you were killed, or this wouldn't be easy as your cheerful little self is making it out to be." she said with a sarcastic smile. Ramza chuckled, hanging his head. "I know, I know, thanks Ags." he quickly said, as well as quickly retreating eastward.

Agrias flushed, running after the blonde boy. "Get back here, Ramza!" she yelled after him, which only got a the blonde boy to laugh loudly as he escaped. Alma sighed heavily, going over to Boco and carefully mounting on top of him. "Let's go, Boco. Ramza might need some help." she said, tapping her feet against the chocobo's sides.

Boco yawned, looking around before nodding and trotting off calmly. Byblos quickly stood and followed after it's bird companion, keeping up with the pace.

Mustadio laughed to himself, wiping away a tear before going over to his father, nodding. "Alright dad, let's get going. Can't get left behind, yeah?" he said, looking at his father with a smirk. Besrodio sighed, nodding his head and started walking. "Kids these days. Well, you all are rather young adults, but you definitely don't act it." he finished, looking at Mustadio with an accusing look. Mustadio coughed and ignored the look, whistling a tune.

Meliadoul blinked a few times, nodding her head as she stood to her feet, dusting herself off. "Omph, that Ramza is going to get himself killed one day." she said, sighing heavily as she quickly began to run ahead, wanting to make sure their 'leader' wasn't maimed. Rad, Alicia, and Lavian weren't far behind, deciding to take up the rear and chat amongst themselves. Worker 8 was the last to follow, having not been given orders to do so, the programming set to 'Keep up with the Master' kicked in.

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Thanks to the accelerated pace set by Ramza and Agrias, the group had made it to their destination an hour or so before sundown. Ramza had fallen over in a state of exhaustion, with Agrias firmly placing a foot on his back and giving a victory sign.

Alma wasn't far behind on Boco, stopping next to the two and sighing. "I'm amazed you both were able to run all the way over here. I know Brother is able to keep up a solid pace if he's determined, but doesn't all that armor weigh you down, Agrias?" she asked, tilting her head while forming mental images.

Agrias peered up at the chocobo-mounted girl, grinning. "Well, I've had a lot of training to get used to the particular weight of my armor. You could say it's become a second skin to me. I mean, if I took it off, I'm somewhat afraid of how fast I could run." she finished, calmly tapping Ramza in the head with her boots. "Come on, we both know you're faking it. Get up." she said with a small smile.

Ramza groaned, swatting Agrias' foot away and climbing to his feet, dusting himself off casually. "Well, it looks like we made it here with time to spare. I suppose a bite to eat before going to bed would do us all wonders, considering I haven't eaten anything since yesterday." he said with a sad sigh, patting his stomach gently.

Mustadio hurled himself over Ramza's head. "OUT OF THE WAY! SOMETHING SMELLS GREAT!" he yelled back at them, charging directly towards one of the many buildings down the street they were on. Besrodio followed at a slower pace, sighing heavily. "That boy thinks with his stomach sometimes...but then again he is right." which promptly put the man into a quicker gear.

Byblos had managed to piggy-back on Boco as well, calmly sitting with it's back to Alma. Although the creature was indeed hungry, it decided it'd be best to go with the group rather than charge through a town and possibly get a few pissed off peasants after it. Boco peered backwards at Byblos, pecking it in the head a few times gently. A sign of appreciation and acknowledgment , Byblos had figured.

Meliadoul gasped for breath as she caught up with Ramza and company, bending over and placing her hands on her knees to breathe. "W-wow...I never knew Ramza could run that fast..." she managed out, slowly rising upwards and sighing. "Makes one wonder what other amazing secrets Ramza may be hiding from us." she said with a sweet hint behind her voice, giving Ramza a smile. Ramza was about as oblivious as ever, while Agrias and Alma both gave low glares at the former Shrine Knight.

Bringing up the rear, as stated, were Rad, Lavian, and Alicia, all three of whom decided they didn't want to get involved in the bickering of three women and a blonde boy, and quickly set off after the dust trail Mustadio had set for them. Not far behind them was Worker 8, who promptly settled by Boco and Ramza, not saying a word.

Ramza perked up at the sign of the last few members of the group, grinning. "I guess that's everyone. I think we can go and get our food now. Why do I have a bad feeling I'm going to be feeling lighter after this?" he said, patting his pockets with a sigh, turning to begin walking down the road. Byblos, at that point, hopped off of Boco and began following Ramza, seeing as he, in it's opinion, was the only sane one amongst the group still. Besides the bird. The bird was awesome.

This left Agrias, Meliadoul, and Alma, the three of them exchanging looks to eachother. Someone was not going to be sitting next to Ramza tonight, and be damned if it was themselves! The three girls slowly, at first, followed Ramza. The pace began to quicken, with Alma having a lead as she was on Boco. It turned into a full on race, Ramza being an unfortunate victim as a result.

"...O-ow..." he managed, twitching visibly as he slowly stood, turning his head to grin at Byblos. "I guess they are hungry too!" he managed with a laugh. Byblos let out a heavy sigh. Even as a strange demon, it understood what went through those crazy female's heads.

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Mustadio had already gotten them the largest table in the etablishment, much to the owners glee. He was already ordering up a storm with his father by the time Ramza had gotten inside. Immediately at his sides were the three girls, each still sharing their looks. Boco and Byblos calmly waited outside, the creature basically protecting the bird from any passerby that thought they could swipe a high-quality bird. Byblos would have none of that!

After a quick game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, as per the request of Mustadio to get them seated so he could eat, Meliadoul and Agrias were quite pleased to be at Ramza's sides, while Alma grumbled and sat across from her brother. Though, it wasn't a bad thing. She had a prime view of his handsome face. Ramza, oblivious as ever, just smiled as he went over the menu. "Hey Mustadio, what are you getting?" he asked, peeking up over the parchment.

Mustadio turned his head, looking at Ramza and giving a wide grin. "Everything. Thanks again, Ramza!" he ended with a big grin. Ramza sunk in his seat, already feeling lighter. "Geeze, you're welcome." Ramza sighed out, rubbing the back of his head.

It took nearly a half hour for all of the food to be served out. By then, Mustadio had a ravenous look on his face, immediately plowing into a rack of ribs. No one else dared bother the engineer and his ribs. Aside from the constant growls from Mustadio, the meal was a rather quiet one. Rad conversed lightly with Alicia and Lavian, laughing about past battles. Besrodio was scootching away from his son at every other growl. Worker 8 was at the doorway, basically the bouncer for the night.

This left Ramza, Agrias, Meliadoul, and Alma to chat amongst themselves. "So, Ramza, what exactly do you plan on doing when we get to wherever we're going?" Meliadoul perked up to break the silence. Ramza tilted his head towards her, giving a smile. "Well, I like to help people. I figured I may take jobs at bars to make a living. There's always a lot of people looking for monster slayers or bodyguards or some such." he finished with a nod, taking a drink from his glass of milk.

Agrias rolled her eyes, looking at Ramza with a grin. "Well at least you're doing something you know you're good at. I suppose you'll be asking for help from us?" she asked, looking at the glass of milk afterwards. She always found that somewhat cute. The boy had slain a nigh-goddess creature, so many other people and monsters, and yet still managed to drink something as simple as milk. Hell, she was shocked he wasn't a crazy drunk by this point.

Ramza coughed, nodding his head. "Well, I was hoping I wouldn't have to work alone. I do love the company of all of you." he said, taking another sip of milk. While Ramza thought what he said was clear enough, the word 'Love' was hanging in the air of the three ladies, each already picturing some form of alone time with Ramza, weather it be as simple as being with him on a monster hunt, or as heated as being alone in an inn room. Take your pick!

After a few minutes of silence, Ramza happily eatting during this period, Meliadoul spoke once again. "So, Miss Alma, what exactly do you see in your brother anyway?" she asked the blonde girl, looking at her intently. Meliadoul always had her suspicions that the young man's sister had a thing for her brother. She was determined to find out if Alma was a threat.

Alma blinked slowly, tilting her head in thought. "Well...he's very kind, he's very brave, and strong too! Ummm, well, he's always been there for me, and I guess because of how close we are in age, I always did get along better with him." she said, smiling at Ramza, who had nodded in agreement at the last statement. "I do love him dearly, which is why I was more than glad to come with his thus far." she ended with a smile.

Meliadoul's interest perked at this point, which is exactly when she laid into Alma. "So, if you two weren't related, would you go as far as to persue a relationship with Ramza?" she asked firmly. This in turn go Agrias to suddenly stop eating, obviously wanting to hear this answer as well.

Alma had coughed heavily, taking a quick drink of her water and sighing. She looked up at Meliadoul, a light blush on her face. "W-well, it would be stupid to say that brother isn't a great man that I'm sure _any_ girl wouldn't want to be close with. I...suppose if I was able to, I would..." she finished quietly, off in thought at that point.

Ramza, at his point, said nothing. Apparently the gears in his head were turning as he slowly looked between each girl. "_Awwww hell."_ he said to himself, biting into a piece of bread.

"I see. Well, thank you for your honest answer, Miss Alma." Meliadoul said, bowing her head slightly. In her head, though, was a long string of curses. Not only was Agrias in her way to Ramza's heart, but apparently Alma was too! _"Well, at least they are related. Ramza probably has no interest in Alma." _she said assuringly to herself, a sigh of relief being let out.

Agrias said nothing as she set her fork down, calmly thinking to herself. _"I suppose it's obvious that Meliadoul has some interest in Ramza. He did seem very impressive in Limberry...I'd go as far as to say he managed to seduce her by being himself. Alma, though? I wouldn't have thought she'd be so into her brother like that...though to be fair, they have always been very close, especially now that they are the last two Beoulve's.". _Agrias nodded to herself, looking up at Ramza. "So, Ramza. Would you like to discuss our traveling plans later? I'd like to know where we'll be stopping next." she said calmly.

Ramza tilted his head towards Agrias, blinking a bit and nodded. "Sure, that would be fine. We can do that once we find an inn with enough room to house us and Mustadio's appetite." he said with a grin, looking over at his friend. Mustadio rolled his eyes at Ramza, letting out quite a loud belch as he finally finished. "I don't care what anyone says, that was GOOD." he said firmly, leaning back in his chair with a sigh.

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Night had fallen after the group left the restaurant, Ramza quietly sobbing to himself at his sudden lack of funds. Boco and Byblos quickly followed their companions, opting to stay back with Worker 8. For some reason, the two monsters had sensed something amongst the group that wasn't quite right.

After a little bit of hunting, a suitable inn was found for the group. After paying for the rooms and the chocobo stable use, Ramza waved at Boco, Byblos, and Worker 8, each of whom left to go to the inn's chocobo stable.

Ramza looked at the rooms, tilting his head and nodding. "Alright then, let's see how this goes. Mustadio and Besrodio will obviously be bunking togther. Alicia and Lavian makes sense too. Rad can go with Mustadio and Besrodio, so that leaves..." _Awww Hell._ Ramza said to himself, already realizing the situation he stupidly put himself into.

Mustadio laughed, and laughed hard. He waved his hand as he stepped into his room, followed by Besrodio. Rad opted to stay and watch the doom of their leader. Alicia and Lavian giggled as well, opting as well to watch what would develope. Ramza gulped to himself, smiling. "A-Alright. Well, I suppose it would be okay if Alma was with me. It would make sense of Agrias stayed with Lavian and Alicia, I suppose. That leaves Meliadoul with Alma and myself then." Ramza finished, nodding his head, hoping to have logically dodged a bullet.

Agrias nodded her head, turning to her fellow knights. "Alright then. Oh, Ramza, would you come with us though? We have to discuss our traveling plans." Agrias said, turning her head slightly to look at the blonde. Ramza nodded, turning to Meliadoul and Alma. "Alright, this shouldn't be long. Alma, would you mind taking my bag?" he asked his sister with an irresistable smile.

Alma sighed heavily, taking the heavy bag and grumbling. "Fine, brother. Hurry up." she scolded playfully, slowly going over to their room. Meliadoul was in a state of mental bliss and shock, but followed quickly after Alma. One could almost hear the cheers going through her head!

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Ramza slowly went into the knight's room, closing the door behind him. He sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his head as he reached for his belt, slowly pulling out a map. "Alright then, let's see..." he said, going over to one of the beds to place the map down.

"We're here...so if we go this..." Ramza was stopped as he felt a smooth hand under his chin, slowly lifting his face up. Ramza was currently face to face with Agrias, who had a sly smirk on her face. "Forget about the map, Ramza. Deal with me now." she said smoothly, taking the blonde by the shoulders and quite easily throwing him onto the bed.

"W-What?!" Ramza managed out, immediately pinned under the weight of the Holy Knight. Immediately pinning his arms down were Alicia and Lavian, both leaning over to whisper in an ear. "Sir Ramza, do you have any idea how long she's been waiting to get you 'alone' like this?" Lavian started, a small hint obviously being in her voice. Ramza gulped as Alicia began to speak. "You two have been traveling together for so long, I'm amazed she hasn't done this sooner. You're the only one that's made her so fidgety like this! Shame on you, Sir Ramza." Alicia finished, giggling quietly.

Ramza gulped heavily as he looked up at Agrias, whom had already stripped down to her undershirt and shorts, looking down at him with a blush staining her face. Ramza smiled slightly. "I...uh...is this true, Agrias?" he managed out, somewhat having trouble forming sentences.

Agrias looked straight down at him, leaning over slowly to put their faces a mere inch away. "Yes, Ramza. I've yearned for this night for countless days, weeks, months..." she said quietly, leaning forward to bite his bottom lip. "I plan on making this night count." she finished before quickly kissing him.

The blonde boy did everything he could to prevent it, but a quiet moan escaped his lips as he raised his, now free, arms up to embrace the Holy Knight. His hands slowly slid down her back as he placed them at her waist, holding her in place as the kiss deepened.

With a quiet purr the Holy Knight moved her face away from Ramza's, slowly sitting up on top of him as she gripped the shirt she wore, smiling sheepishly. "Now Ramza, be gentle." she said, slowly lifting the shirt above her head.

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This would have been fine and dandy if Ramza wasn't suddenly punched in the back of the head. His eyes shot open as he looked at Agrias, whom was sitting across from him on the bed. "Are you awake now, Ramza? You suddenly blacked out when you were marking our path on the map." she said, looking at him curiously.

Ramza blinked slowly, turning his head to look around the room. Alicia and Lavian were now looking at the two, having been minding their own business until they heard the impact. Ramza sighed heavily, dropping his head. _"Who did I piss off to deserve being teased and messed with like this? Oh wait, I pissed off a nigh-goddess, that's right...and then killed her." _he finished, nodding and smiling at Agrias. "Sorry, sorry. I'm a little tired. I apologize." he said, a slight bow of his head being offered.

Agrias sighed, rubbing the back of her head. "You're hopeless, Ramza." she said, smiling at him. If there was one thing Ramza really liked, it was that she was truly beautiful when she smiled at him. Lavian and Alicia once told him that she rarely ever smiled, that was until she met Ramza. It was a rare privilege only he had, and he liked it.

The Holy Knight tilted her head as she looked at Ramza, sighing heavily. "Are you daydreaming again or something? You're not suddenly becoming a pervert, are you?" she asked, which immediately snapped Ramza out of his thoughts. He lifted his arms, shaking his head in defense. "N-no! I was...just thinking at how nice you look when you smile..." he said honestly, looking down to hide a slight blush.

Agrias blushed immediately, looking down as well. "R-really? I...thank you Ramza." she managed out, slowly looking up to look at the Squire. Ramza looked up as well, looking straight into her eyes, slowly managing to form a smile. The two sat there for quite some time, much to the dismay of Alicia and Lavian.

"I don't think they'll manage anything tonight, don't you agree Alicia?" Lavian asked her partner quietly, winking. Alicia giggled to herself, sighing with a nod. "I'm afraid not. It's so cute how they act sometimes though." she said with a dreamy sigh, imagining what it would be like to be in love.

After some continued silence, Ramza finished his map-guiding business and stood, smiling at the girls. "Alright, I'll be leaving now. I may as well get an early rest." he said, bowing his head and turning for the door.

Ramza had barely managed to grab the door knob before he felt a pair of arms wrap around him slowly. He managed to turn slowly to be able to look down slightly at Agrias, whom was the culprit to stop him. "Thank you, Ramza..." she said quietly, keeping the embrace. The Squire nodded his head, slowly embracing her to share the hug.

"I meant it to, Agrias. A guy would have to be a total idiot to not realize just how great and beautiful you are..." he said quietly, immediately turning to dart out of the door as fast as possible. Agrias stood there, her light blush becoming much more apparent. Lavian and Alicia giggled loudly, earning them both a glare from the Holy Knight.

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Ramza entered his room with a yawn, stretching as he threw off his coat, working on pulling his shirt off as well. He stopped midway, peeking his head over his shirt to see Alma smiling at him, whom in turn was pointing at a suddenly blushing Meliadoul. With a heavy sigh, Ramza fit his shirt back on, chuckling. "Sorry about that. I usually don't share rooms." he said as an excuse.

With a nod, Alma slowly turned, laying back on her bed to quietly read a book she was mid-way through. Meliadoul, however, said nothing, sitting on her bed with a gulp, a few thoughts going through her head at what she just witnessed.

A heavy yawn was heard as Ramza went to his bed, which was in between both girls, and flopped down ontop of it, sighing. "It's been one heck of a day. I think I'll sleep good tonight." he said slowly, keeping his face buried in his pillow.

"You know, brother, it's not good to sleep in the same clothes two nights in a row..." Alma said, looking up from her book. Ramza blinked, nodding his head. "I suppose, as long as it's okay with you two." he asked, looking at Meliadoul mainly.

A pair of brown eyes looked up at the blonde boy, a slow nod confirming that it was 'okay'. Meliadoul smiled to herself, quite pleased at how this night was turning out. _"I can't believe this! And here I thought Alma was just going to be a pain in the butt!" _she cheered to herself, slowly peeking an eye over to watch Ramza.

Ramza grumbled as he worked on pulling his shirt off, sighing as he managed to take it off. By no means a muscle man, Ramza did have a firm stomach, as well as a good upper-body in general. After doing a few strecthes, Ramza opted to leave his pants on until the girls were sleeping, just to be safe.

Alma turned to look at Ramza, a smile on her face. "Oh come on, brother. It's okay! I'm sure Meliadoul won't mind seeing you in your boxers." she said, a sly grin being hidden. She knew exactly what she was doing. Payback is a bitch, ain't it?

Again, Ramza turned his head to look at Meliadoul, although this time with a light blush. "Well, I figured I'd just wait until you two went to sleep, but I suppose it'd be best if I got it over with.." he managed out, gulping quietly.

Meliadoul coughed to herself. He was already shirtless, she wasn't going to pass up this chance! She nodded slowly, again confirming the 'okay'. Ramza nodded as well, slowly working on taking off his belt, and then slowly sliding his pants off with a groan. "I really should invest in more casual wear." he said as he slid under his covers, grumbling.

The brown haired women would have had a nose bleed if she didn't mentally prepare herself for that, slowly turning to lay down in her bed. She was expecting a good string of dreams tonight. Alma grumbled to herself, having hoped that Meliadoul would have done something embarrassing. She sighed, laying down as well as she went to blow out the candles. "Good night, brother. Good night, Meliadoul." she said, a puff taking the lights out.

"Good night, Alma. Good night, Meliadoul." Ramza said, yawning heavily and closing his eyes.

"Good night, Miss Alma. G-good night, R-ramza..." said Meliadoul, whom had trouble managing to actually say those words. She quickly ducked under her covers, holding back a giggle as she closed her eyes. _Very _good dreams.


	3. Chapter 3: Love and Arrivals

Disclaimer: Do you think I'm ever going to own FFT? Stop it.

A/N: I have one thing to say: describing new outfits SUCKS. Oh, fair warning, this chapter will get a little heated in more ways than one. Keep that in mind, please. I wonder if I'm allowed to write smut with out changing the rating of the general fic, as long as I give a large warning before hand. Hrm. I don't know, what do you guys think? Should I bump the rating up a notch? Give me your reviews if you'd like to see this fic take a more mature, serious tone. You know, so I can go all out.

One last thing, I'll generally only capitalize "Squire" and "Engineer" if I'm referring to the characters directly. Otherwise, the jobs are lowercase. I also apologize for the wait folks! I had to clear up a few things before I could finish the chapter.

Thanks!

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Ramza quietly sat in the lounge of the inn, looking aimlessly at the dark ceiling. He didn't really sleep all too well, having been, again, violated in his dreams. He brought a hand up to his forehead, gently brushing away his bangs. "Son of a bitch." he said slowly, letting out a heavy sigh.

The blonde's eyes slowly shifted directions, looking off to his left, then his right. He let out another heavy sigh, slowly sitting up in his chair, looking down at the table. "Alright. Let's sum this up, Ramza. You're currently being plagued by a somewhat attractive demon in your dreams, who seems to be hell-bent on raping you. In the real world, you supposedly have three girls who want your attention. One is a Holy Knight that you've known for some time now. One is a Shrine Knight that almost killed you. Finally, one is your DAMNED SISTER!" he yelled suddenly, slapping his mouth shut once he realized what he did.

Ramza slowly stood out of his chair, going towards the inn door, fumbling with the door for the moment. He slowly walked outside of the inn, stretching as he looked up at the night sky. He slowly turned towards the chocobo stables, opting to stay with the three non-human members of the group.

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Worker 8 was, for some reason or another, fixing up the various damages of the chocobo stables, his programming warning him that the area was not optimally safe for him or his companions. Much to the annoyance of the some of the chocobo's not quite used to the hustle and bustle of a robot.

Boco was, of course, used to this by now, quietly sleeping, letting out very slight snoring. Byblos wasn't far from Boco, however, it was quietly looking at the other various chocobo's. Such a various amount of colors! The strange little demon creature had no idea so many colors of The Bird existed.

Ramza slowly stepped into the stables, looking around slowly. "Bleh. I figured it would smell bad. Oh well." he said calmly, tilting his head at the sight of Worker 8 and it's constant moving. He let out a sigh, slowly going over to Boco and Byblos, snatching a nearby stool to sit on. "I've had one hell of a night, so I think I'll stay here 'till morning..." he said, grinning down at Byblos.

Byblos made little eye contact with Ramza. Something was bothered the demon. Something wasn't right about the one hailed as the leader. Something was...foul about his normally bright, good aura. The demon slowly tilted it's head, looking up at Ramza. Something was wrong.

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Morning came quickly enough, thanks to Alma letting out a shriek when she noticed her brother was missing. After rounding the party up, getting dressed, and skipping breakfast (Much to Mustadio's dismay), the group had set off, and split up, to find the missing blonde.

Agrias casually walked with Mustadio and Besrodio, not having been nearly as alarmed. "He probably went out for a walk. I think Alma's just a little too worried. I'm sure nothing bad happened to him." she said calmly, mainly to assure herself.

Mustadio glanced over at her, smirking. "Considering what probably happened in that bedroom last night, I'm surprised he'd have the strength to walk!" said the engineer with a wild grin. WHACK! A blunt object bashed the grinning boy with precision and power, sending him sprawling out on the ground. Besrodio looked down at his son, slowly putting his cane back to the ground. "What have we learned, Mustadio?" he said, giving his son a warm, loving smile.

The Holy Knight couldn't help but laugh quietly to herself, thanking the older man for his timely assistance. If it wasn't for him, she'd probably be chasing Mustadio for a few hours. "Well, let's go see if Boco is still in the stables. If so, we can assume Ramza didn't leave far then." she said with a nod, quickening her pace as she went.

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Alma, whom was currently with Meliadoul, had calmed down quiet a bit at this point, but was visibly fuming still. "That jerk! How could he just leave like that? Doesn't he know some of us are still worried about something bad happening!" she ranted continuously. Meliadoul smiled to herself, slowly going over to Alma and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Miss Alma, how about we go look at a few of the stores and get some new clothes? It probably wouldn't be wise for you to wear the same dress the entire way, hmm?" she saild, smiling sincerely. Alma perked up with a nod, a wicked grin on her face.

"As a matter of fact, I do happen to have Ramza's gil sack..." Somewhere, Ramza was twitching horribly at the fact that two girls had his savings. However, that wasn't the case as the two girls, in high spirits, trailed off to the various stores and booths along the street.

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Ramza had dozed off sometime in the early morning, slowly waking up when Boco quietly pecked at his head. With a groan the Squire slowly stretched, working out a few sore spots from his poor sleeping position. "Bleh...didn't mean to doze off. Ugh..." he said in the groan, slowly standing up.

Boco and Byblos slowly stood as well, going over to the stable entrance and calmly leaving at their own pace. Worker 8 quickly followed after them, seeing as the threat was secured, and his job done. Ramza sighed heavily, looking at the greatly improved stables. "I guess we can probably use him to help make some money..." Ramza said with a nod, slowly walking out after them...only to bump straight into Agrias.

Agrias blinked for a moment, tilting her head up slightly to look at the slightly taller blonde. "I guess I was right, you did sleep with the birds, huh?" she said with a smirk, but not making any sudden movements to break the connection of their bodies. Ramza chuckled to himself, nodding his head.

"I just had a bad dream and figured I'd walk it off. Nothing special, I guess." he said, smiling warmly at her. The two stood there for some time, both clearly enjoying the closeness of their bodies, the shared warmth they had as their fingers slowly interlocked with each other, pressing themselves against the other firmly...

For some reason, there wasn't an interruption this time by Mustadio. Besrodio had immediately gotten the hint and had dragged his son off by his pony-duck tail, ignoring his cries to stay and watch.

The two, Ramza and Agrias, felt their breathing hastening as they kept themselves like this, looking into the others eyes. The other could clearly see the passion burning in their eyes, but neither made any sudden movements. After a minute of this position, Ramza gulped as he slowly leaned forward, his bangs brushing gently against Agrias' forehead as he moved in close, seemingly about to kiss her...

Until they were intercepted by a loud cough, Rad standing with Alicia and Lavian, a grin on each of their faces. Ramza had immediately panicked, pulling back and tripping over a 'well-placed' bucket behind him, landing flat on his ass. Agrias had simply turned away, not saying a word.

Rad couldn't help but continue grinning, that was until he started laughing. As a note, though, Rad had recently changed out his normal, issued squire attire, having opted to purchase a long, brownish-black trench coat, a pair of combat-durable pants, black in color, and a white cotton shirt, which normally be covered by a heavy and durable combat vest, also black in color. "Sorry if we interrupted you, but we figured Ramza would like to know that his sister has his money and is currently buying everyone new clothes." he said, gesturing at himself.

Alicia and Lavian had, as well, been given new clothing. You couldn't very well be sporting 'Knights of the Church' garbs and, well, not be of such, yeah? Alicia was wearing a heavy blue and black robe, similiar to those a black mage would wear. Underneath the robe, covering her legs, was a pair of plate mail leggings. On the chest section the case was the same, a form-fitting plate breastplate underneath the robe. The style was used to help bring a lack of attention to the wearer, but being entirely outfitted to fight. However, Alicia's sword was in clear view, being strapped to her side along the belt of the robe.

Lavian's was more or less the same as Alicia, however, the robe was more of a red with white mixture, similar to that of a priest. As well, she wore the protective plate pieces under her robe, basically making her a twin of Alicia. Alma had stated that she thought they'd look cute together if they looked similar, and probably meet a pair of cute guys, much to the shock of the two knights.

Ramza let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head slowly as he managed himself back to his feet, dusting himself off. "Well, it's fine. I was actually planning on getting everyone a new set of clothing. This worked out for the best, I suppose." he said, laughing quietly to himself. The blonde slowly tilted his head to look over at Agrias. "It probably wouldn't hurt if you got a new outfit too, Ags. You stand out a bit in the 'Holy Knight' getup." he said, gently poking her in the side a few times.

The Holy Knight rolled her eyes, looking at Ramza with a sigh. "I suppose that would be the best idea, then. I'll see if I can't find anything." she said slowly, looking off towards the row of shops and booths. Ramza perked up with a nod. "Alright, I'll go with you then! I guess I could use with something nicer." he said, motioning towards the rather old and worn clothing he had chosen to wear thus far.

Agrias smiled slightly, nodding. "Alright, let's be off then." she said, slowly walking forward towards the street, Ramza following at her side, which left a light blush on Agrias' cheeks as she imagined being on some form of date with the Squire.

Rad coughed to himself, scratching the back of his head. "Well, I guess we'll leave them alone this time. May as well go find Mustadio. Think I saw his pops' drag him off this way." he said, motioning towards an alleyway. After a mild circle of laughter, Rad quickly left with the two Knight's.

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Alma was still with Meliadoul, having finally found the two of them their own new clothing. Meliadoul had opted to not change her outfit too much. Her attire simply changed with her having the green, robe-like cloth over her body now entirely open, showing off the beautifully crafted armor underneath. She also had the hood removed, now showing off her cute, short brown hair.

Alma had protested that Meliadoul should wear something a touch more cuter, or if nothing else, cover the armor entirely, but Meliadoul refused, stating that she wanted to keep the memory of her brother alive to her heart and mind.

The cleric-girl, on the other hand, had a different outfit entirely. She still wore a dress, but wasn't nearly as baggy and clumbersome as the other hand been. She opted for a tighter look on the upper part of the dress, making her ample bosom more noticeable to the eyes of any admirers. The bottom half of the dress wasn't as wide as her previous dress, but wasn't nearly as form fitting as the top part, as she opted to still wear a pair of tighter pants underneath the dress. The dress itself, entirely, was a pale blue and white scheme. She had removed her gloves entirely, and her boots were now white leather, to match the color scheme of her dress. The red ribbon, though, remained as a keepsake.

Alma turned, smiling at Meliadoul. "Alright then, let's get going and find my brother." she said sweetly, turning to walk out of the shop. Meliadoul sighed heavily, slowly following after the cheerful girl, already knowing that this day was liable to take a turn for the worse.

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Ramza was patiently waiting for Agrias in different store further down the street from Alma and Meliadoul, the young man humming a soft tune as he waited. Ramza had decided to change back into his mercenary garb from back when he worked with Gafgarion, though wearing a cloak over the majority of his body now while he was in towns. Though they were no longer in Ivalice, Ramza kept in mind that not everyone may know about his aledged death, so it was best to keep himself a little more hidden so he didn't attract a stupid bounty hunter or two looking to make an easy buck.

After what seemed to be forever, Ramza tilted his head as he heard the changing-room door open. If it wasn't for the fact his jaw was attached to his face, it would probably be stretched to the ground right now. Agrias had opted to remove the majority of her armor, and changed what she had left on. Her breastplate had become quite a bit more form-fitting, which simply meant that if anyone thought she was male from a distance would feel like a total idiot when they saw the plate-molding shaped around her breasts. The breastplate, however, wrapped around her upper chest area, spreading over her back to keep her spine protected, as well as fit perfectly into a pair of armguards and pauldrons of the same metal she decided to wear, which all was a bright, shiny platinum color.. Agrias had opted to let her blue overcoat remain, but had entirely removed her plate leggings. This, in turn, showed off a pair of extremely tight, shiny leather pants, worn for easy movement and comfort. If it wasn't for the overcoat, we'd be sure Ramza would have had a nosebleed at the sight of the Holy Knight's well-toned rear.

Agrias blinked at Ramza, a light blush creeping on her face as she realized the reaction he'd had gotten. While by no means did she ever think of herself as ugly, she never imagined that she'd be as attractive as every male in the establishment was making a big deal of, especially when the hoots and hollars began.

However, these activities would come to a stop when the Squire snapped out of his state of shock and promptly began to blast the majority of the store with minor Ultima blasts. After a few minutes, Ramza insisted on paying for Agrias' minor change in armor, using what little money he had managed to keep on his person to do so.

Once outside of the store, Ramza turned and bowed low to Agrias. "I'm sorry about that, Agrias. I just kind of snapped and..." he was silenced, though, as a ungloved finger gently pressed against his lips. Ramza slowly raised himself to look straight at the Holy Knight, who now had closed the distance between them. "Shut up, Ramza." she said firmly, immediately placing a quick, passionate kiss on the now shocked blonde's lips.

The thoughts racing through both of their heads had suddenly stopped at that very moment. As by instinct, Ramza immediately wrapped his arms around the girl, holding her tightly as the kiss was only deepened, the Holy Knight letting out of a soft moan of delight at the acceptance of the stupid, blonde boy she admired for so long.

Not to far off, in a certain alley, were five pairs of eyes watching intently at the scene that played out before them. Mustadio grinned wickedly, giving his dad a thumbs up. "It all worked out, old man! Though next time, do you mind not pulling my hair?" he said, giving his father a sour look. Besrodio looked off, humming innocently.

Alicia and Lavian gave each other a double high-five as they watched the scene, Alicia speaking up. "It's about damn time. She'd start talking about him out of no where, and swore us to keep her feelings a secret. She's probably going to hit us for this, but that's okay." she said with a smile, Lavian giggling with a nod. "All's well that end's well." she said, nodding firmly.

Rad sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his head. "That's great and all, but we still have to consider THAT factor." he said, slowly pointing at the two female figures were in perfect view of the scene portraying infront of them. Lavian and Alicia visibly winced, while Mustadio couldn't help but start laughing.

The Shrine Knight and the Cleric stood in nigh-horror as they watched the Holy Knight and the Squire lock lips. Meliadoul almost whimpered out loud as she felt her heart suddenly shatter. Alma bit her bottom lip, turning and putting a hand firmly on Meliadoul's shoulder. "Don't get upset. I know you like my brother, a lot. This doesn't mean anything, really! We just have to play our cards a little better from now on." she said, nodding assuringly. Meliadoul slowly nodded, turning away from the scene and slowly walking.

"Ah crap. I better make sure she's okay. Damnit." said the engineer, darting out of the alley with a wave. "Wish me luck!" he yelled back, following over the heart-broken Shrine Knight. Besrodio sighed as he watched his son, shaking his head. "He's dead." he said slowly. Rad, Alicia, and Lavian each nodded in unison with the statement.

Alma slowly walked up to the embraced couple, doing her best to hold back her anger. She coughed quietly, but much to her dismay the two blonde's were far too into their own personal, perverted thoughts to acknowledge it. With a heavy sigh, Alma took a step back. "BROTHER!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed, immediately causing the Squire to push away from Agrias, drawing his sword and looking around frantically. "ALMA...oh. What's wrong, Alma?" he asked, looking down at his sister with a confused look.

Agrias blinked slowly, being knocked out of her happy place all of a sudden put her in a daze. After a quick moment she shook it off, turning to look at Alma. She took a mental note at what Alma did, and decided payback was in order at a later date. She sighed heavily, rubbing her forehead, taking another mental note at Ramza's ignorance.

Of course, Ramza was all smiles when it came to his dear sister, nodding slowly, and immediately snatching the gil sack back, sighing at how light it felt. "This is what I get for letting my sister hold my money. Anyway, let's get everyone together and be off!" he said, a smile still planted on his face. Alma slowly nodded, turning to briskly skip away. "I'll go get Meliadoul, brother! She suddenly took off with out a word!" she yelled back, a wicked grin all over her face.

At that moment, it all came rushing back at Ramza, hitting him in the chest like a ton of bricks. While he did feel bad for Meliadoul, and Alma seemed to have taken it well enough, making him believe the whole 'crush' on him was nothing more than his own paranoia, he let out a heavy sigh. He slowly turned on his heels, looking at Agrias with a smirk. "Can I ask something? What made that happen?" he asked, holding back a smirk.

A light blush crept right back up on the Holy Knight's face, having trouble to look directly at Ramza at his point. "I...well, to be honest, I was really...impressed by how you got jealous back in the store...and well...I figured if one of us didn't make a sudden move forward, we'd probably get interrupted by SOMEBODY again." she said, making sure to raise the volume, and tone, of her voice at the word 'somebody.' Rad, Lavian, and Alicia each ducked behind a barrel, peeking over to continue watching.

She smiled softly at the blonde boy infront of her. "And I see that neither of us are complaining, hmm?" she said slowly, looking dead at him. Ramza coughed, blushing as he looked away quickly. He slowly opened his mouth, "Ah, well, that's true. I mean, it was nice...I just hope nobody minds...", he said with a frown, looking back at Agrias.

Agrias nodded, slowly going over to hug him tightly. "Even if they do, Ramza, they'll just have to get over it. I've waited long enough for this moment, and I won't just let it go." she said, keeping the embrace tight as she buried her face into his chest. Ramza looked down at the girl, giving a small, warm smile as he embraced her as well, keeping the moment strong.

----------

Mustadio had finally managed ot catch up with Meliadoul, breathing heavily as he darted in front of her. "Hey! What's the matter? You seem really upset and pis..." he didn't get even remotely a chance to visit as a gloved fist punched him in the face, the upset, and now pissed, Shrine Knight walking over the engineer like a bridge.

After a moment taken to regain himself, Mustadio immediately went back in front of Meliadoul, walking backwards to stay out of range. "Come on, Meliadoul. You shouldn't get so worked up over it. There's plenty of guys that'd die to have a shot at even kissing your hand, I bet!" he said firmly, bracing himself for another hit.

Meliadoul stopped, looking at him, a fierce look on her face. "Do you REALLY think so, Bunanza?" she said, her eyes almost piercing the poor boy's soul. He slowly nodded, giving a smirk. "Yeah! Trust me, I'm sure, once we've all found a place to stay for longer than just a few days, you'll find a nice guy who'll sweep you off your feet!" he said, making sure to butter it up so he didn't get hurt by pissing her off somehow.

The girl slowly turned away from Mustadio, looking up with a small smile forming on her lips. She tilted her head back towards him, nodding. "Alright, Bunanza. We'll see what happens in the _near_ future, hmm?" she said, giving him a small wink as she slowly walked away.

The engineer stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what had just happened. He slowly opened his mouth, muttering, "Oh shit.". He let out a heavy sigh, following after her slowly. "I wonder if my dad would blame me if I put a bullet through my head..." he said, trailing off in his own thoughts.

----------

After meeting up together, once again, the party set off again on the road. Ramza stayed at the back of the group, going over his map as he made sure of a few quick pit-stops to rest. Agrias was right next to him, walking quietly for the most part.

Alma grumbled as she sat upon Boco, leaning over to slowly whisper to the bird. "I can't believe my brother see's anything in her. She's hardly a lady, really. I thought he'd have a little more taste than that!". Boco blinked a bit, turning his head to look at his 'master' and the Holy Knight. After a moment of thinking, Boco suddenly darted at Ramza, pecked him in the forehead a few times, and promptly dashed back to the head of the party.

The Squire immediately fell on his ass, rubbing his head slowly with a sigh. "I should have seen that coming!" he said loudly, jumping to his feet. Agrias held back a chuckle, smiling. "He's a nice chocobo, though. I'm sure he just wants your attention. Too bad..." she finished, her voice hinting at something. Ramza blushed lightly, continuing his pace, feigning ignorance.

Trudging solemnly next to his father, Mustadio let out of a heavy sigh. The elder man gently placed a hand on his son's head, patting gently. "It's alright, Mustadio. You did what you thought was the right thing to do. It's not your fault the Shrine Knight girl assumed you were showing her hidden feelings." he said slowly, looking at Mustadio with a evil grin. The engineer sighed, looking at his father with a spiteful gaze. "You set me up, old man. I KNOW you did!" he yelled, jumping back and pointing at him accusingly.

Besrodio laughed, and laughed hard at his son. He said nothing as he continued to walk. "Omph. Damn this leg of mine." he said as he stopped suddenly. Ramza blinked, quickly going over and nodding. "Hey! Alma, do you mind swapping places with Besrodio? Seem's his leg is giving him trouble." he asked nicely, a smile flashing to his beloved sister.

Alma rolled her eyes, already having decided to do that. She turned Boco around, leading the bird to the elder man. She jumped off with an 'omph, Ramza immediately assisting in helping Besrodio sit safely upon the chocobo.

Boco let out a wark of approval, scratching at the ground for a moment. After a few loving pecks to Ramza's forehead, the bird was happily trotting ahead with a new passenger. Ramza said nothing, opting to just shake his head slowly.

The group had remained quiet for some time of the trip, no one saying much of anything as the sun beat down on them. Alma let out a heavy sigh as she tugged on the collar of her dress, trying to get some air circulation in. "Why is it so hot today? Blech.." she said slowly, frowning at how stick she felt. Ramza chuckled for a moment, walking up next to her and gently putting a hand on her head, rocking her head gently. "Don't complain now, Alma. You said you wanted to stick it out, so let's just make as much distance as we can. It'll cool down soon." said the squire in a cloak and heavy armor.

Alma beamed him a smile, nodding as she admired her brother's strength and determination. To her, absolutely no man could compare to him, which is why she suddenly tripped over a rock and landed face-first on the dirt road. Daydreaming does that to girls, apparently. Ramza, along with anyone who managed to catch sight of that, let out a few laughs. After wiping a tear away, the loving Squire went to help his sister to her feet, grinning wickedly. "You have to be more careful, Alma." he said to her, dusting her off a few times carefully.

A few thoughts raced through the young girls head. She had this odd, yearning feeling to be touched by Ramza, though in different ways. She couldn't quite place it yet, but all she could do it keep herself from tackling the poor guy was to hug him tightly. "Thank you, brother..." she said softly, smiling warmly.

----------

The sun was slowly setting at the point the group decided to stop and set up camp for the night. Rad, the pyromaniac, was eagerly blasting any wood Alicia and Lavian delivered to him with a simple Fire spell, quite pleased with the resulting flames. Mustadio was scouting above a nearby tree, keeping an eye out for any wandering monsters or some such nonsense. Besrodio was quietly grooming off Boco, a form of 'Thank You' for the assistance earlier today. Needless to say, Boco was loving the attention, letting out 'coo's and odd 'purring' every so often.

Meliadoul was quietly reading a book to herself, the only sounds coming from her were light breathing and the turning of paper pages. Worker 8 was standing guard of Alma, whom was preparing a meal over the burning fire, humming a gentle tune to herself. The robot had made a mental calculation of when the food would be prepared, for some reason or another.

This left Ramza and Agrias, both whom were walking towards a small, clean stream that was listed on Ramza's map. After the short walk, Ramza slowly lowered himself with a large canteen, dipping it into the clean water. "I wonder...we've been having a somewhat monster-free trip thus far. It's kind of nice..." he said, looking back at Agrias with a smile.

The Holy Knight rolled her eyes, going over to nudge her foot against his rump, threatening to tip him into the stream. "You're going to jinx us, Ramza. You probably shouldn't have said that." she teased, pushing gently on him. Ramza yet out a small yelp as he pushed back against her. "C-Come on Ags! This isn't funny! I don't want to get wet!" he exclaimed, frantically trying to get out of the bad position.

The Squire's struggles were in vain as the Holy Knight pushed the two of them in the stream. She immediately twisted and pinned Ramza down as the water splashed to all sides. In a split second upon impact, Ramza felt a pair of lips he was growing quickly familiar to.

The two embraced eachother in heated passion as the kiss was deepened, their tongues rolling in the other's mouth. Ramza pushed himself up after nearly a minute of the exchange of tongues, gasping heavily for breath.

Agrias smiled down at him with a light blush staining her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Ramza. I just had this sudden urge and I..." she stopped for a moment, looking around slowly. "That's weird, I would have sworn I heard a yell..." she blinked, slowly moving off of the Squire, offering a hand to help him up.

With a grunt, Ramza stood to his feet with the assistance, sighing at his wet clothing. "I didn't heard anything, but I do have a few gallons of water in my ear." and with that he began to rub his ears, water splashing out after a few seconds. He looked up at her, looking around after a moment. "I do have one of my bad feelings, but I don't think it's anything that involves us...then again, I've always had the habit of getting involved in stuff that isn't of my business." he said, flashing his female companion a smile as he began to walk.

With a roll of her blue eyes, Agrias followed after him quickly, turning her head to speak. "How did you know this is the direct of the yell? Do you really believe you have some sort of danger-tracking instincts?". Ramza laughed quietly, looking at her with a smirk. "Well hey, it hasn't failed me yet." he said, a firm nod given to show how serious he was.

Again, the blue eyes would roll, Agrias giving him a returned smile. The two slowly intertwined their fingers together as they held hands, walking together towards the disturbance.

Suddenly, a loud yell hit both of the blonde's suddenly. Ramza tore off forward, dragging Agrias with him in a high burst of speed. A loud bang would ring through their ears after the yell, Ramza immediately being able to tell that it was a gun shot. "Crap, Mustadio might be in trouble!" he said, pushing his legs to the limit as he rushed as fast as he could.

In clear sight was a young man, a gun in his hand as he fired again at a number of lumbering figures. Ramza, with Excalibur drawn in a flash, hurled himself into the lumbering figures, aiming to disarm them. The stench of rotting flesh would fill his nostrils as he recognized the figures were that of the walking dead, your basic zombie. Knowing no reason would be able to convince the mindless dead to stop their assault, Ramza unleashed the blessed blade against the flesh of the leading figure, a blast of holy light vaporizing the undead in an instant.

Agrias, after regaining her balance from Ramza's sudden bold action, quickly unsheath her blade. With a sudden slash, a sudden yell came from her mouth. "Heaven's Wish To Destroy All Minds, Holy Explosion!!!" and at that very instant that the words finished, a sudden explosion bursted from the bodies of the dead. A divine blade pierced through their bodies, ending their 'lives' instantly

Ramza sighed heavily, turning towards the man with a grin. "Sorry we were late Must...oh! I'm sorry...who are you?" he asked, tilting his head suddenly at the fact the gun-wielding man was not his known friend.

The man slowly ran his fingers through his black hair, breathing heavily as he slowly extending his free hand, giving a small smile. "T-Thank you...for the timely rescue. I...wandered through a g-graveyard and disturbed some s-spirits I think. P-Penovi. Penovi Kiku Poorport at your service." he finished, his composure slowly returning to his shaken form. He was dressed rather oddly, at least to Ramza and Agrias. He wore a turban around his head, which hid well his long, flowing black hair. The turban itself was held together in the front by a small, gold pin sporting a red ruby and a white feather. Clearly, the turban would probably be quite expensive.. For his body, he wore a simple white shirt, and a pair of quite red pants. What stood out the most was his regal blue overcoat, which did well in clashing with everything. Quite odd!

With a smile, Ramza accepted the man's hand in a firm. "Ramza. Ramza B...Ruglia." he finished with a nod. Penovi shared the nod, leaning back against the rock he was pinned to just moments again. "I apologize for troubling you two. It seems my yells and gun shots might have startled you two, judging by how wet you two look." he said with a frown, gesturing to the soaked couple.

Agrias coughed uneasily, giving a nod. "It's fine. We were simply collecting water for us and our companions. Don't trouble yourself." she said, looking over at Ramza. She already knew what he'd say next.

"You're free to join us if you need a place to stay safe for the night, Penovi. We'd be more than welcome to help someone in need." Ramza said with a proud smile. _Bingo_, thought the Holy Knight, rolling her eyes again at how predictable her new love was.

Penovi looked around slowly, then nodded. "I'd appreciate it, truly, Sir Ramza. Thank you." he said with a sudden bow. Ramza flushed lightly at the sudden respect, shaking his hands infront of himself. "P-please! That isn't needed! Ramza is fine!" the blonde said with a laugh.

With a nod, Penovi straightened himself out, turning to Agrias and bowing his head. "I apologize! Whom may you be, miss...?" he asked, looking at her curiously. Agrias blinked before suddenly realizing she had yet to introduce herself. She bowed her head down slightly. "Agrias Oaks." she said calmly, not having the same problem with her own name as Ramza obviously had with his.

Ramza looked down at his feet, eyeing one of the slain zombies. "Well, it doesn't seem like anything vile was occurring within this corpses. Let's go ahead and leave this place so the souls of the damned can find rest without us mortals disturbing them." he said, Agrias and Penovi sharing nods as the three quickly left. A sudden chill would fill the air as the trio left, the corpses vanishing with the wind...

----------

After a casual walk back, Ramza was immediately pinned down by his sister, whom was glaring at him with intent to kill, somewhat. "BROTHER! Do you know how WORRIED we've all been? DO YOU KNOW THE JOKES MUSTADIO HAS USED?!" she screeched, pointing up at the engineer whom was safely in his tree.

"Bow chicka bow bow." he said, giving Ramza a wink as he stayed quite securely up in the branches of the mighty oak. Ramza stammered for a moment, pointing at Mustadio. "NO SUCH THING!" he yelled, shaking his head and turning quickly to point at Penovi. "We ran into him and rescued him from zombies!".

Penovi looked up, holding back a chuckle. "It's true. Without the aid of your companions here, I may be zombie food right now." he said, shivering visibly at the thought of being a meal. He offered a smile and bow to the group. "I am Penovi Kiku Poorport. A pleasure." he said, looking at each of them.

Mustadio looked down at the odd-dressed man, giving a slight wave. "I'm Mustadio Bunanza, an engineer and digger at times, if you would." he said with a proud smirk. Though, he was instantly distracted at the gun holster on Penovi's hip. "Say, is that a gun? What kind is it?" he asked curiously, almost about to jump out of the safety of his tree.

Penovi blinked for a moment, reaching down to remove the slim, nearly pearl colored gun from it's holster. He flipped the gun over, looking it over. "It's an heirloom of the Poorport family, actually. It's strange though, I don't have to load it for it to fire. It seems to shoot out pure 'light' in the form of a bullet. It's quite effective against scaring off beasts or wiping out the undead, though. Though it's not very effective at killing, which I'm thankful for, sometimes the bullets become more powerful. I don't understand how, though." he said, shrugging his shoulders helplessly.

That did it. Mustadio was immediately infront of the man, looking at the gun with a hint of drool coming out of his mouth. "This is indeed a rare find! I bet it's powered by an infinite magical source in the gun itself! I believe if you put enough faith into the gun, it'll respond and fire stronger bursts. Similiar to the gun I use now!" he said quickly, removing his own gun from it's holster. Thanks to the aid of Ramza, Mustadio had gotten three extremely rare elemental guns in their adventurers. After a bit of tinkering, and all nighter's, from Mustadio and Besrodio, they had managed to craft together a gun that could unleash the elements of Fire, Ice, or Lightning. "While I'm upset at the lost of the guns we had to use to craft this beauty, I'm more than pleased at the result." he said with a wide grin. "Say, Penovi, you wouldn't happen to be an engineer, would you?" the excited boy asked, curiousity overcoming him.

"Haha, I'm afraid not. I'm actually more of a mediator, if you got right down to it." he said, spinning the gun casually and firmly locking it back into it's holster. Mustadio chuckled, grinning wickedly. "A mediator with a gun, eh? I'd listen to you in an instant." he joked, sharing a laugh with the Poorport.

After a few minutes of random exchanges, Mustadio quickly jumped back into the tree before anyone had snapped to the fact he was in melee range. Rad looked up at Penovi, giving a slight wave. "The name is Rad. The two ladies here are Lavian and Alicia." he said, motioning his thumbs at the two girls sitting by him. Alicia bowed her head slowly, while Lavian gave a small wave. Penovi nodded slowly, turning his attention from the trio.

Meliadoul smiled, bowing her head slightly. "I'm Meliadoul Tingel." she said simply and quickly. She was still too absorbed into her book to really have much else to say to the new person. Penovi snickered to himself, knowing just what it was like to be lost in a book.

Mustadio's father slowly nodded his head towards Penovi. "I'm Mustadio's father, Besrodio Bunanza. I apologize for my son's excitement." he said with a frown. Penovi shook his head, laughing quietly. "It's quite alright, Mr. Bunanza. I can relate to what it's like to see something you view as amazing." he said simply. Besrodio chuckled to himself, sighing. "Well, it's still no excuse for him, but you're right. I remember how that was back when I first started digging. Finding rare and ancient items was always a thrill..." and like most older men, Besrodio carried on like this for some time.

After a few more minutes, Boco waved a wing at Penovi, simply saying hello in his own way. Byblos, whom had remained mostly hidden for the time, came out of it's hiding place, slowly sitting near the tree Mustadio was perched in.

Penovi raised an eyebrow at the fact this group of people had a demon with them, but said nothing to offend them. Byblos seemed friendly enough, so why piss off your new friends by questioning their sanity?

Worker 8 had remained quiet, having not been given any orders to speak. However, the robot did turn and examine Penovi carefully, simply to make sure he was no threat to the Master or the Friends. With a whrrrrrrrrrril, Worker 8 went back to silence. Penovi coughed nervously, quite curious at the 'metal man.' "I hope I do not offend, but whom is the quiet fellow there?" he asked, gesturing to Worker 8.

Ramza looked up at Penovi, still being pinned down. "That's Worker 8. He's a...robot was it? He's a friend and ally of our's. He generally won't speak much unless ordered to by me, though. Don't worry about if he's quiet." he said assuringly, nodding towards Worker 8.

With a nod, Penovi looked down at Ramza, gesturing towards the girl sitting on his chest. "And whom might this be?" he asked, looking at Alma, blinking a few times. Ramza quickly spoke up, nudging Alma. "This is Alma Ruglia, my dear sister." he said quickly looking straight at Alma.

The younger sibling had immediately gotten the hint when Ramza had used that last name, quickly flashing Penovi a smile. "That's right. Now if you excuse me, I don't think I beat up Brother Ramza enough." she said with a growl, pummeling Ramza lightly on the chest with her fists.

After Alma got her 'revenge', Ramza was allowed to sit up properly, opting to stay close to Agrias. He nudged her gently, leaning against her slightly. "Say Ags, what do you think of this Penovi guy? You're generally a pretty good judge of character, considering you trusted me rather quickly." he said, giving her a wink.

Agrias gently whacked him over the head, saying nothing about that. "He seems friendly enough, but he's obviously hiding something. Like when we first met Mustadio. I don't know what, though. You should confront him about it, Ramza." she finished, gently giving the Squire a kiss on the cheek. Ramza sighed for a moment, knowing deep down she was right. He slowly stood, going over to Penovi whom was quietly chatting with the tree-stranded Mustadio.

"Penovi, I have a question. Just what were you doing out here alone? No offense to you, but you don't exactly seem the adventuring type. You couldn't be out here alone unless something was distressing you. We'd all probably like to know why you're here." he said flatly, looking straight at the black-haired male.

With a nod, Penovi slowly stood to his feet, keeping his head low. "I'm here with my family, to be honest. My father is the mayor of a town on the boarder, of Ordalia and Ivalice. We, my father, mother, sister, and myself, recently went on a vacation here in Ordalia. Though my father is the head of my family at this time, he's wearing down with age, which would partially explain the outfit I'm wearing that you all seemed to have been giving odd looks at. This is the garb generally the head of the Poorport family will wear, in case you were curious. Regardless, our vacation turned quickly into a disaster. A group of knaves kidnapped my sister and demanded a ransom. I left to try to do anything I could to rescue her, but only managed to get lost." he said slowly, his fists clenching in anger. "I won't let those bastards use her as some bargaining chip to screw my family!" he said, looking at Ramza with a burning fire in his eyes.

Ramza was all too familiar with that look of determination and honesty. He slowly approached Penovi, placing a hand firmly on his shoulder. "We'll help you find and rescue her, Penovi. I'm not one to leave anyone in distress." he said, a smile on his face.

Penovi looked at Ramza, his eyes tearing up slightly. He slowly nodded his head, looking down. "T-thank you Ramza. I appreciate it, truthfully. I'll make sure you all are properly rewarded for y..." he tried to say, but was interrupted as Ramza spoke. "No. I'm not in this for any sort of self gain. Someone is in trouble, they need help. This is my way." he said, his voice with a powerful backing to it.

Mustadio immediately jumped down from the tree, grinning wickedly as he placed his hand on Penovi's free shoulder. "That's our Ramza! I'm pretty sure we all agree on aiding good ol' Penovi here! Right guys?!" he shouted, each of the people around them giving their own nod.

With a tear falling down the Poorport heir's cheek, Penovi looked up, giving everyone a handsome smile. "I thank each of you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you..." he said slowly, bowing his whole body down in respect.

Ramza spoke up after a minute had passed, letting the emotions clear up. "There's no use in traveling in the dead of night, so we'll take this time to rest and set out first thing in the morning with Penovi guiding us. Looks like we're going to get our hands dirty, guys. Be prepared for the worse if it comes to that." he said, making sure to keep his expression brave and positive. After an exchange of nods and 'Okays', the party settled down to rest for the night.

----------

Hours later, Ramza stared up at the star-filled sky. He couldn't fall asleep yet, and that annoyed him to no end. He shifted over, grumbling heavily as he tried to close his eyes. To no avail could he keep them closed, and immediately opened them. A smile crept up on him as he stared into a pair of gorgeous blue eyes.

Agrias smiled warmly at Ramza, gently tapping him on the nose. "You really shouldn't shuffle around so much, you'll wake someone else up." she said, yawning slightly to show he had just done that. Ramza frowned, looking away. "Sorry Ags...I didn't mean to wake you." he said, whimpering almost.

The Holy Knight rolled her eyes, leaning forward to brush her lips against his own. "None of that, Ramza. I'm not going to start feeling guilty." she said, leaning into him as she kissed him. Ramza had no arguements in sharing a kiss with Agrias, slowly moving over to wrap his arms around her gently, holding her closely.

"I think I might be able to fall asleep if we stay like this." he said, holding back a sheepish grin. Agrias smirked, giving him a quick, gentle kiss. "I think we can arrange that." she said softly, nuzzling her head against him as she closed her eyes.

The Squire smiled down at the Holy Knight, gently kissing the top of her head as he kept the embrace around her, closing his eyes slowly. _Stay out of my dreams, Altima. There's only one girl I want in them now._ he thought to himself, his eyes slowly closing shut.

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A/N: As a heads up, Penovi is a cameo character of a friend and is not owned by me, along with the other Poorports. Thanks for reading, see ya next chapter folks!


	4. Chapter 4: Roar of the Dragon

Disclaimer: So I got the ri...oh wait, no. Nevermind. Still don't own FFT. 

A/N: I've decided that, to show the darker theme of the time after Final Fantasy Tactics had played out, to raise the rating of the story to Mature. In essence, for those of you who read the previous chapters and do not like Mature content, I apologize. As a writer, I feel that hindering myself is unacceptable. However, I will be waiting around 24 hours before updating the rating, to give you all a warning to adjust your "Rated: X - X" option to allow Mature content to be shown, as a sign to show A Symphony of Sword and Soul hasn't disappeared

IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED, DO NOT READ THIS CHAPTER. IT IS SOMEWHAT MORE GRAPHIC AND INTENSE THEN THE PREVIOUS ONES. CONSIDER THIS CHAPTER RATED M. DO NOT GET ON MY CASE BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO IGNORANT TO READ THIS WARNING.

To those of you that don't mind, enjoy! Just don't get any perverted thoughts in mind, though! ...-cough-

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A low moan would shake the Squire's body from the Lucavi girl that had him pinned so firmly up against an invisible wall A small, glowing blade was pressed against his neck by his all-to-familiar nemesis, whom was idly occupying herself with removing every piece of his armor.

"Raaaamza...just because you've got yourself a cute little slut, doesn't mean you're going to avoid meeee..." said the lustrous Lucavi, her hands gripping Ramza's undershirt and calmly ripping it in two, a squee of delight forming out of her mouth as her hands eagerly rubbed over muscles and flesh.

Though, much to her annoyance, Ramza wasn't paying much attention to her. He looked down at her dumbly, sighing heavily. "Altima, I'm just going to ignore you. Besides, I know this isn't real. Could you...I don't know...finish up so I can go back into better dreams? Really...half-naked demon girls aren't a fetish anymore. Half-naked Holy Knight's though, mmmmm..." he said, a smirk forming on his face at the facial response from the Lucavi.

Long went the seductive, cute look Altima had on her face. That was now replaced by an enraged, blood thirsty snarl. All would go black after that fearful expression.

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Early morning would hit the horizon, the Squire yawning slowly as he stretched his body out. He glanced to his side, eyeing the snoozing Holy Knight. With a chuckle, Ramza slowly slid out of the embrace placed upon him by Agrias, slowly standing to his feet to take a look around.

Byblos and Boco were already awake, and lightly 'conversing' in their own tongues, not paying much heed to Ramza. Other than those two, and Worker 8 who technically does not sleep, the rest of the group was still slumbering lightly.

Ramza, being the kind and loving leader he was known to be, slowly weaved through the sleeping forms of his friends. Stopping next to Mustadio, the Squire slowly reached down and slid the Engineer's gun from it's holster. He slowly lifted the gun, pointing the barrel straight up in the air. A loud BANG would follow afterwards.

Immediately, Agrias was on her feet. Her 'Save the Princess!' instincts took into effect and she immediately tackled Ramza down, a sharp blade pressed against his jugular. After an awkward moment, Ramza smiled hesitantly at his girlfriend, a goofy smile indeed. "Ahh...sorry about that, Ags..." he said, the smile turning into an 'innocent' grin.

The Holy Knight glared down at Ramza, sighing after a moment and gently pinching his cheeks, standing slowly. In a flash of yellow, Mustadio was immediately tackling Ramza, snatching his beloved gun back and hugging it tightly. "Damnit Ramza! Look what you did! You could have broken it or something! Grrr..." the Engineer ranted, grumbling to himself after a minute.

Alma had stirred as well, slowly standing and letting out a small, cute yawn. She slowly walked over to her brother, helping him up into an immediate hug. "Good morning, Brother. I see you're the reason we're all awake." she said quietly, smiling at him.

With a cough, the Squire turned away, looking at each yawning, or immediately up, person with an apologetic wave. "Sorry guys, but we ARE on a mission now. I figured it'd be a good idea to see how alert everyone was, hahaha!" and smiles for all!

...Until Ramza had the living daylights beaten out of him...

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It was dark, there was an annoying dripping sound, and it smelled like old fungus. In a large cage, some old straw used as a 'bedding', sat a young girl. She was obviously fuming, as told by the constant fuming sounds and pouting. "You...you...how DARE you all treat a lady like this!" she yelled into the darkness, huffing and looking away from the far-off cave entrance.

Foot steps would echo through the cave, as a soft thunk was heard by the cage. A gentle voice would mutter a string of words that were hard to make out, but clearly the word "Fire" was heard, as a lamp suddenly burst to life.

Inside the cave sat a petite, brown haired girl. Her rosy, cute face was covered by her currently messy hair, which hid back a pair of brown orbs, covered additionally by a small pair of glasses. Her attire was...strange. Immediately noticable was a pair of moogle-like wings on her back, and a matching moogle pom-pom on her head. She calmly moved her hair out of her face, glaring at the person outside of the cage. "Just who do you people think you are kidnapping me and dumping me in such a nasty place?!" she yelled, panting quietly afterwards.

The dark-haired man would sigh heavily, leaning over and sliding a plate of food, consisting of a meager amount of food. "I apologize, Lady Poorport. It may not be up to your usual cuisine...but your usual eating habits are a touch rarer to find in this area." he said with a smile.

The Poorport girl took the piece of bread on the plate, biting into it if nothing else. She didn't make any further eye-contact, opting to stare at the wall instead. With a sigh, the man slowly stood to his feet, bowing his head slowly. "I know this is all really stupid, Lady Poorport...I personally do not approve of our leader's sudden turn to insisting on kidnapping people for money...or otherwise. Just...be glad your luck has avoided you being used like a piece of meat." he said, turning and slowly beginning to walk out.

"I'll make sure no harm comes to you. That's all I can do now." and with that, he left the cave with out a word. The Poorport girl would slowly turn her head, looking at the cave entrance.

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"Ow ow ow ow ow..." ringed through the air, the blonde engineer currently bouncing on one foot. "My foot fell asleep!" he exclaimed, going over to a nearby rock and kicking it a few times. "WAKE UP!"

Besrodio shook his head slowly, quite glad that he was on Boco again. "Mustadio, quit making an idiot out of yourself. You know you're just going to start complaining that your foot hurts because you kicked a rock." he said with a sigh.

With a snicker, Ramza nodded his head slowly. He walked next to Agrias again, an arm around her waist tightly. "Let's keep focused, guys. It's important that we keep on our toes, considering the circumstances." and with that, he tilted his head to look at Penovi. "So we're supposed to be hitting a forest with the ransom money, yeah?".

Penovi looked up quickly, nodding his head. "That's right. I have some rough directions to the drop off point. They agreed to bringing Priscilla with them at the exchange, though of course you can never be so sure with rif-raft like that." he said, rubbing his temples slowly. "It's nerve wracking considering the sheer amount of money they wanted.".

The Squire rubbed the back of his head, nodding slowly. "I remember a situation like this before. It...didn't end too well. Don't worry though, Penovi, we'll get your sister back, no matter what." said Ramza, a smile on his face as he pressed forward.

In the back, farther than Rad usually walked, trotted slowly a miffed Alma. Through her head ran a number of thoughts of how to claim Ramza as her own. He was so impressive! So amazing! So handsome! Why did he have to fall for that stupid knight?! With a glare filled with malicious intentions, the Cleric girl shot forward, immediately snatching Ramza's free arm and hugging it tightly. "Raaamzaaaa...you wouldn't let anything happen to me, right?" she asked, a sad, pouty look on her face.

Taken back by that, Ramza looked at his sister awkwardly, shaking his head quickly. "Of course not, Alma! You're precious to me! I wouldn't let any of you get hurt or such." and with a nod, he looked around to make sure everyone was there. "Okay?".

Alma nodded slowly, hugging his arm tighter, sniffling quietly. The cute act, it was so obvious. Agrias let out a heavy sigh as she watched her love's sister make an ass out of herself. "Just what is she planning?" Agrias thought to herself, biting her bottom lip. "Alma, what's with the sudden insecurity? You know Ramza would sooner die than let anything horrible happen to you." she said with a slight smile, always worried about Ramza's reckless aggression when it came to his sister's safety.

The Cleric nodded slowly, frowning. "I-I know...but I just wanted to make sure. Everything is so different now...and I..." and cue the sobbing. Ramza, with a frown, slowly hugged his sister tightly, rubbing her head gently. "Ssshhh...it's okay Alma. I'm here for you, always." she said supportively, nuzzling her head gently.

With a wicked, hidden grin, Alma's grip tightened on Ramza, holding him securely as the two walked together now. Agrias, whom had been watching, took notice at the sudden curve of Alma's lips, but opted to say nothing, simply shrugging it off and moving back to walk with Alicia and Lavian.

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"Lady Poorport, the deadline is coming up. We'll be moving soon. I'm afraid I'll have to bind your arms though, and put you on a 'leash'. I know it's not very becoming of a lady, but please be cooperative." said the dark-haired man, giving her a slight smile as he showed her the rope.

The girl, whom was indeed Priscilla, looked up at the man with a growl, slowly standing and dusting herself off, making sure to flick her the pom-pom on her head a few times. "If it gets me out this smelly cave, fine." she said, grumbling as she held up her arms.

The man slowly unlocked the cage, gesturing her over. He carefully tied her wrists together, pulling gently on the length of the rope. "Alright, Lady Poorport, let's get going." said the man, turning to walk slowly.

"..Priscilla. Call me Priscilla. I don't want to be called 'Lady Poorport' in this position." she said with a sigh, looking up at the man with a frown. Indeed, it wasn't a very lady-like situation, and she didn't want to be reminded of her status at the moment. It was shameful.

The dark-haired male tilted his head back, giving her a slow nod. "Feel free to call me Leoran. Leoran the Bandit." he finished, snickering to himself as he lead her out of the cave. "And we're off." he said, pointing towards the small group of armed, bulky bandits.

In the daylight, the lightly-tanned man was easily viewable. His attire, unlike the green-clad bandits, consisted mainly of a dark blue garb. The cloth was generally thick, providing decent protection. Over the clothing was a pair of plate leggings and a breastplate, for additional protection. His hair, however, stood out. It was entirely blue, dark blue, but blue.

"...Is that natural?" Priscilla asked, blinking as she leaned over to look straight at her guard. She moved her bound hands up, gently poking at a few strands. Leoran tilted his head, blinking for a moment as he crossed his eyes to look at his bangs. "Huh? Oh! Yeah, it is. Go figure. I guess I was exposed to magic when I was young or something." he said, shrugging helplessly as he took her towards the group of bandits.

"Ahhh, good job Leoran. Good to see the girl is able to walk on her own. Though she's free to 'ride' on my lap." he said, laughing heavily, along with the other bandits in earshot, each hooting and hollering. The 'leader', as he was called, was a massive man, at least a good seven feet tall. Though not in fat, but in pure, raw muscle. He was entirely bald besides a long, sharp beard, which he constantly stroked. His face had a few scars and scratches, along with the rest of his body. Obviously, the man had seen some battles. His attire consisted of heavy leather pants, and nothing covering his chest. Obviously a risk taker. Strapped across the massive man's back was an equally massive axe, sharpened and large enough to quite possibly split a rock in half. "So what do you say, girl? Care to 'ride'?" and there they went again, hooting and hollering.

Priscilla turned away, shaking her head fiercely. "No THANK you, I'll walk." she said firmly, glaring at the ground. "Pig..." she said under her breath, not even looking up to insult the man to his scarred face.

With a heavy snarl, the massive man lifted his hand, swinging it to strike the girl across the face. "You impudent little slut! I'll show you to disrespect and deny me!" and his hand make contact with a crushing blow.

Leoran firmly held his bosses hand, glaring at him. The loud, smacking sound had from hand connecting to hand. "We had an agreement, sir. You promised not to harm the girl. With a blow that powerful, you would have easily killed her. With all due respect, sir, killing her would not get us paid." he said, dropping the leader's hand from his grip.

With a heavy laugh, the leader nodded. "That's why we took you in! You've got the brains and the brawn we need! Unlike these idiots. Come on, let's get going! You keep the girl secure, Leoran. She's too feisty for my taste anyway. Sooner we get rid of the skank, the better." and with that, he began walking.

Priscilla, still wide eyed from the shock of almost being killed by such a ferocious blow, was gently shaken out of her daze by Leoran. "Come on. While your bravery is commendable, do keep in mind if you anger him a second time, I won't be able to safely intervene. I rather you weren't tossed to his goons, if you get my hint." he said with a nod, slowly walking forward, tugging the girl in tow.

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Ramza and Agrias stood by Penovi as they approached the meeting point. Boco was hidden nearby to quickly snatch the hostage and burst off in an amazing show of speed. Mustadio was quietly positioned in a nearby tree, being used as a sniper and a scout in case something looked wrong, or went wrong. Much to the dismay of the others, they were told to stay a distance back, out of sight.

"Let's hope everything goes well enough." Ramza said calmly, keeping his arms folded as he waited patiently. He turned his head slightly, looking at Agrias with a smirk. "Just be careful not to obliderate them TOO much, Ags. I want to find out a bit more about this little bandit group. Never know if it's a conspiracy." he said with a held back grin.

With an annoyed sigh, Agrias stared straight at Ramza. "Yes well, thanks for mentally scarring me and having me leave my faith, ass." she said, looking away from him with a small smile on her face. Was it worth it just to be with him? Hell yeah.

Penovi rubbed his forehead gently, turning to look at the two. "Do you two mind? This is a serious situation! I don't know how confident you two are in your fighting abilities, but I don't want to be hurt...nor Priscilla!" he added quickly, sighing heavily at the stress.

The Squire nodded, turning to face forward. In the distance slowly began to emerge the bandit crew, Priscilla in tow as agreed. Ramza leaned over slightly to whisper to Agrias, "That's it? I could disable them with one Ultima and avoid getting any blood spilled.".

Agrias smiled slightly, a hand sneaking and firmly grabbing Ramza's butt, squeezing threateningly. "Enough of that, Ramza. You really use that spell too much, considering it's nature." she said softly, a concerned look in her eyes.

"Don't worry, I've nearly entirely mastered it. Just you watch, I'll impress you." Ramza replied, taking her hand from his rear and holding it tightly for a moment. As the bandit group approached, he gently let go of her hand, giving a nod as the two stood ready.

The large bandit leader approached the trio. After eying each of them over, he laughed loudly, pointing at Penovi with a sick grin. "This is your escort? Haha! I figured you'd be wussy enough to bring more than just two equally wussy looking rats. Then again, the girl is pretty sexy." he said, his eyes eagerly sizing up Agrias.

The Holy Knight bit her lip, holding back a disgusted look. Ramza himself was holding back a sudden twist of range, but decided to keep his cool and wait patiently.

"Dregus Dufar, Bandit Lord of the Demonquench Corps. If you want your dirty money, release my sister immediately!" Penovi spoke up, glaring directly at the massive man. Another roar of laughter emitted from the throat of Dregus, his right hand firmly gripping the...grip of his axe. "Shut up, boy. Your precious sister is clearly there. Hand over the money...or..." he said, gesturing with a tightened grip on his axe.

Penovi grumbled under his breath, reaching into his shirt. "Very well." he said, pulling out his gun and firing a single shot into Dregus' eyes. With a roar of pain, the massive man fell back, the ground seemingly shaking with him.

The group of bandits immediately responded, swords and daggers drawn as they rushed forward. Ramza desperately thrusted his hand forward, his mouth unleashing those dreaded words, "ULTIMA!". The brilliant magic blasted from his palm, ripping through the ground. The spell blasted and chained against each bandit, sending them flying a good few feet.

In a flash of brilliant steel, Agrias drew her blade, her hand sliding across the length of the flat side of her blade as she spoke. "Absorb power in the sky and strike! Lightning Stab!" she yelled as she whirled the blade in the air, pointing it towards the sky. In an instant, a bolt of lightning struck the blade, dancing off of it and striking a group of the oncoming bandits, sending a massive, deadly electrical burst through their bodies.

"..Ho Ho Ho, Penovi! You've got some balls after all! Too bad you lack the brains to use them!" Dregus said as he rose to his feet. With a quick snap of his large fingers, a group of darker-clad men appeared from the trees. With them was a badly injured Mustadio, bleeding from various areas of his body. "Now then, considering you decided to do something so...evil, Penovi, I've decided that a fitting punishment would be to kill you and your body guards..." said Bandit Lord, slowly lifting a small blade from his belt.

Ramza glared at the men that, apparently, had assaulted Mustadio. He slowly lifted his arms up in defeat, motioning for Agrias to do the same. Hesitantly, the Holy Knight dropped her sword. A few of the men who had appeared quickly moved in to keep blades positoned at vital areas at each of the trio, making sure to strike if any of them did anything stupid.

Dregus slowly approached Penovi, looking down at him with a sinister glare. "I have a better idea. Instead of killing you, I'll simply...", he said with a massive fist suddenly crushing into Penovi's stomach. In the sudden stroke, Penovi threw up a large amount of blood as he was sent flying, slamming down onto the ground. Dregus turned, looking at Agrias. "You, slut. Come over here. I think I'll enjoy you while my men enjoy that little Poorport whore..." he said, slowly licking the blade as he, and his men, laughed.

Agrias visibly flinced, turning to look at Ramza. D-damnit...why the hell did this have to happen?! she screamed to herself in the back of her mind. The Holy Knight slowly stepped forward, suddenly being grabbed by the arm and jerked over firmly against muscle and flesh. In a flash of steel and precision, the blade sliced off the straps of her breastplate, the armor falling to the ground with a thud.

With another laugh that would make even Kefka jealous, Dregus carefully sliced open the undershirt Agrias wore to keep warm and comfortable. As the fabric was cut, Agrias quickly raised her arms to cover her chest. With a growl, the Bandit Lord gripped her arms, forcing them down as he admired the sight of the Holy Knight's breasts. "Ahhh, the armor didn't do you any justice, baby. But I sure will...wehehehehehe!" and so the chorus of laughs would continue.

"That's ENOUGH!" screamed an obviously enraged man. A flash of steel would decapitate the group of men that held Mustadio hostage, blood splattering and bursting from the severed heads. Dregus roared in anger, throwing Agrias to the side as he looked directly into a pair of pale, blue eyes. "Leoran!? What the HELL do you think you're doing?!" he roared, his hand firmly gripping on the massive axe and removing it, holding it firmly in front of him.

Leoran turned slowly, wiping the blood off his spear with his gloved hand. "Shut the hell up you bastard. I won't let you do this to anyone!" he screamed, pointing the spear directly towards Dregus. "I regret not acting sooner. I've stood by long enough and have allowed you to kill innocent people, and rape innocent women. I'm just as guilty as you are, but today I will redeem myself! Prepare yourself, you sick son of a bitch." he said, his voice carrying a spiteful tone that would send shivers down anyone's spine. With out bothering to turn his head, Leoran quickly addressed Priscilla. "Tend to your brother and his friends. I'll take the ugly one.".

Priscilla quickly nodded, dodging around the dead bodies as she went over to her brother to examine his injuries. The bandit elite that had not been slain had all but retreated after Leoran's betrayal, not wanting to be killed over money and women. "P-Penovi! Are you okay?!" Priscilla asked, looking at bruising injury Penovi had sustained just moments ago.

The Poorport Heir groaned heavily, opening his eyes slowly to look at his sister. "I...it hurts, but I'll be okay. I think...a few ribs are broken though. Get my gun...and kill that...b..." he didn't finish, his eyes rolling back as he fell unconscious.

Ramza on the other hand had quickly rushed to Agrias, moving her out of the way of the upcoming battle, as well as placing his cloak over her exposed chest. He took her to Mustadio, where the two checked him over. "Are you okay, Mustadio? Do you know what happened to Boco?" Ramza asked, already fearing the worse for their chocobo companion.

Mustadio groaned heavily, looking up with a grin. "Boco? I don't know, Ramza. To be honest, though, he actually took a few of the guys out that had jumped us before I told him to get lost. I'm sure he's made it back to the others by now. Ooogh...sorry Ramza. I must be getting rusty." said the engineer, before falling on his side, unconscious from the pain.

The Squire quickly turned his attention to Agrias, making sure she was alright. "I'm sorry, Agrias. I couldn't do anything. You could ha..." he was silenced as the Holy Knight embraced and kissed him deeply, pulling away after a moment. Tears slid down her cheeks as she stared directly at the shocked boy, shaking her head firmly. "You didn't do anything wrong, Ramza. It would have been worse if you had rushed in and did something stupid. We're not safe yet, we should help that man that just saved us. I don't know if he can take that ugly bastard on his own." she said, quickly trying to regain her composure.

Ramza reached over, gently sliding his fingers against Agrias' cheeks, wiping the tears away. "We need to tend to Mustadio and Penovi's injuries first. We don't know how grave they are. Come on, help me move Mustadio." he said, looking over at Leoran and Dregus squaring off for a moment before going to work to move the unconscious engineer.

In a flash of speed, the spear-wielding hero immediately began unleashing a combination of fast thrusts towards Dregus body, each being deflected by the massive axe. Suddenly, Dregus slammed the axe forward in an awesome display of raw power, ripping the earth below the two in half, a shock wave of energy blasting Leoran off his feet. However, the blue-haired ex-bandit recovered quickly in mid-air, his body suddenly spinning as he hurled himself back at Dregus. The tip of the spear sliced into the man's arm, blood splattering from the wound. In a roar of pain, Dregus lunged himself back, preparing for a counterattack.

Leoran landed gracefully on the ground, pointing his spear at Dregus. "Pray to whatever god you may hail to, Dregus. Your life ends by the tip of my spear! In the name of Justice!" yelled the blue-haired man, his feet pressing forward as he rushed head-on towards the Bandit Lord. In a sudden movement, Leoran's body was encased in a blinding white aura, which flowed directly into his spear.

"Aura Slash!" Leoran yelled, suddenly slashing the spear into the thiness of air. In an instant, the white aura leapt off the blade and crashed into Dregus, sending the massive man hurling through the air, crashing through a number of trees before skidding to a halt. With a sigh, Leoran looked at the body of the Bandit Lord, shaking his head slowly.

With a silent prayer that only he could hear, Leoran slowly turned to walk towards Penovi and Priscilla. The Poorport girl turned, pointing the gun at Leoran, trembling. "D-Don't hurt him..." she mustered out, her fear getting the better of her as a tear rolled down her cheek.

Leoran sighed heavily, stepping past her and kneeling down by Penovi, examining the injury. "Four or five broken ribs and some internal bleeding. I can stop it..." he said quietly, gently placing his gloved right hand on Penovi's stomach. "Wer Trelao Itmen di wer Darastrix Yah, leor nomeno sthyr's ouith...", said Leoran in an unknown tongue. A gentle blue light would emit from his hand, slowly washing over Penovi's body. "I can't mend the bones at this time, but that stopped the bleeding." he said quietly, slowly rising to his feet.

As Leoran slowly began to step away, he turned his head slightly, giving Priscilla a small smile. "You shouldn't stain your cheeks with tears of fright. Save them for the man you'll love one day." he said, turning and walking away. The girl stared at the man, shaking her head quickly and wiping her tears away. "I-Idiot..." she mustered out, turning to tend to Penovi.

With a few quick steps, Leoran slowly knelt down by Mustadio, keeping both hands above his body. "Wer Trelao Itmen di wer Darastrix Yah, leor nomeno sthyr's ouith..." he repeated, the same light washing over Mustadio's body quickly. This time, though, Leoran breathed heavily after the light vanished, slowly standing to his feet. "His wounds aren't as serious, so he should make a full recovery once he wakes up. I apologize that I had not acted sooner." he said, gesturing to Agrias. "I especially apologize to you, miss...".

The Holy Knight shook her head quickly. "It's fine. I shouldn't have let myself get into such a position. Next time someone tries to pull a dirty trick like that..." she growled, keeping her thoughts to herself. Ramza laughed quietly, nodding at Leoran. "Thank you for everything. If you didn't help us, we might not be alive right now..." he finished, bowing his head respectfully.

With a blink, Leoran quickly shook his head. "Don't thank me. I'm no hero...far from it." he said slowly, a frown forming on his face. "Many things have happened because of me, and because I didn't act sooner. I... don't deserve to be called a hero." he said, hanging his head.

The silence was broken with a sudden cry. Leoran, Agrias, and Ramza quickly turned their heads to see what caused it. To their horror, a blade was currently sticking out of the chest of Priscilla, Dregus laughing maniacally as he ripped the blade out, letting the girl slump to the ground in a pool of blood. "See what you've caused, you little shit? Because of you, all of these people will die!" the enraged Bandit Lord roared, gripping his heavy axe with his battered arms.

"You...you bastard!" Ramza screamed, jumping to his feet and gripping Excalibur's hilt. As Ramza was about to charge forward, a sudden feeling in his gut stopped him. The Squire slowly turned his head to look at Leoran, who was visibly shaking.

The blue hair boy slowly looked up, staring at Dregus as tears ran down his cheeks. "...Why...? Why would you do such a thing? She...did nothing wrong. I did..." he said, the grip on his spear tightening. "You...you killed her because of me. I've...caused someone else to die by my actions...but..." his eyes suddenly sharpened, darkening as his voice began to grow darker. "I've never killed an innocent with my own hands. Dregus...the evil in your heart destroys the lives of anyone in your path. I...I WON'T LET YOU LIVE!".

Leoran screamed loudly, the birds in the trees around them all at once began to fly away. The blue-haired man gripped his spear with both hands, his feet slamming against the ground as he charged towards the Bandit Lord. As Leoran charged forward, a dark, red aura flowed with his body, creating a series of near afterimages as he tore forward. "The souls of all you have slain scream for vengeance! I will be their vessel of revenge!" Leoran screamed, his body pulsating with the red aura now.

As Leoran approached Dregus, he suddenly jumped high into the air. Dregus attempted to follow the grief-stricken man's movements, but was blinded by the sun above them. Suddenly, Leoran was directly above Dregus, a malicious hint in his voice as he yelled, "TAKE THIS! MY LOVE, MY ANGER, AND ALL OF MY SORROW! GEIRSKOGUL!!!". In an instant, Leoran drove the spear through Dregus' skull, not stopping until the end of the spear crashed into the ground beneath the man. Leoran quickly lifted his right foot, smashing it fiercely against Dregus' body as he ripped the spear out. In an instant, the Bandit Lord's harpooned body was suddenly ripped apart, and into, a swirling vortex that erupted from the impact of the spear, which vanished as fast as it had appeared.

Ramza and Agrias looked on in awe, and in horror, at what had just happened before them. Leoran's grip on his spear faded, the spear hitting the ground with a clang. The young man himself slowly turned towards them, a pained look on his face. He said nothing as he slowly began to walk towards Priscilla's body, kneeling down in her blood and gently lifting her body into his arms. "I...I..." he managed out, before succumbing to tears.

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There was no victory fanfare that day. Ramza and Rad were working on digging a proper grave. Agrias was sitting with Alicia and Lavian, filling them in on the details of what had happened. Mustadio was being nursed by Alma and Meliadoul. Besrodio was quietly observing his son. Byblos was quietly sitting next to Boco, who was preening himself. Worker 8 was assisting in the digging, mainly moving any rocks or such objects. Penovi was sitting by the body of his sister, saying nothing as he held her lifeless hand in his own.

Once done, Ramza slowly climbed out of the grave, helping Rad up with him. The Squire slowly approached Penovi, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. "It's time to say goodbye, Penovi. She wouldn't want you mourning over her forever." he said sadly, but had a supportive smile on his face.

Penovi nodded slowly, standing very slowly with the help of Ramza, as he still had quite a few broken ribs. Rad went to lift Priscilla's body, walking with Penovi and Ramza to the dug grave. "Omph...say Ramza, where did that other guy go? You know, the one you said had gone into a berserker frenzy and obliderated the big guy?" Rad asked, looking over Ramza while doing so.

With a shrug, Ramza spoke, "I have no idea, honestly. He mumbled something and took off. I hope he's okay, though. He seemed really...broken...". Ramza couldn't find another word for it, shaking his head sadly. "Come on, let's get this over with and move on...".

With the help of Worker 8, Ramza and Rad carefully lowered Priscilla's body into the grave. Each person slowly turned to Penovi, waiting quietly. Penovi shook his head sadly, slowly going over to the grave and smiling sadly. "I'm sorry, dear Priscilla. I failed you as an older bother. I should have protected you, but I'm too weak to do anything. I swear, Priscilla, in your memory I'll become stronger. I'll make the name Poorport stand out above the rest. I'll dedicate the success and prosperity of our family name to you..." Penovi finished, nodding his head slowly as he knelt down, giving one last smile to his beloved sister. "Goodbye, Prisci..."

"WAIT!!!" screamed a familiar voice. Leoran quickly ran forward, breathing heavily as he looked at everyone around the grave. "W-wait! Don't say goodbye yet!" he exclaimed, slowly catching his breath. "This isn't right...she wasn't supposed to die...and I WON'T let her!".

Penovi glared at the blue-haired man, standing to his feet slowly. "What the hell are you talking about?! She's dead! There's nothing no human can do to resurrect someone after that! Not even the most skilled Priests or White Mages could do anything now!" he yelled, clenching his fists angrily.

Leoran nodded slowly. "I agree entirely, no human." he said, shoving Penovi out of the way as he jumped down into the grave, carefully lifting Priscilla's body out of it and jumping right back out. "Feel free to kill me afterwards, I know this looks bad." he said calmly, gently laying Priscilla's body on the ground. With a heavy sigh, Leoran slowly gripped his right glove, sliding it off slowly.

Glowing brightly on the back of his hand was a rune of a dragon head, which seemed to breathe as it pulsated brightly after every other second. Leoran closed his eyes slowly, gently placed his right hand over Priscilla's breasts. Leoran slowly began to speak in the unfamiliar tongue once again, though a few common words were able to be made out, "Ini wer ibahalii di wer Darastrix Yah, nomag sia iejir vur quortek qe used ekess sila nomeno fallen girl spical ekess hesi treskri. Si, Leoran di wer Darastrix Clan, gultah sia humanity persvek exchange ihk nebeur waph. Ladon, qualla grant sia daewl vur yutsu nebeur ekess udoka!".

Both Leoran and Priscilla were engulfed in a gentle, green light. Their bodies would be lifted off the ground, Leoran's body slowly releasing a wave of blue strands and sparkles from the rune on his right hand. The blue strands would slowly encase Priscilla's body in a cocoon, and seep into her body soon after. As the green light slowly began to fade and lower the two, a loud, piercing cry of a dragon would blast through the air, causing a sudden rush of dust and dirt to cover the area.

"W-what the hell just happened?!" Ramza yelled, coughing heavily as he waved his arms around, trying to remove the dust cloud from his view. Much to his, and everyone elses shock and surprise, Priscilla was coughing as well, whining quietly. "W-what's going on?! Is there a dust storm?!" she asked, looking around quickly for a familiar face.

The poor girl was immediately tackled by Penovi, who hugged her tightly, sobbing quietly. "You stupid girl! You DIED on us! But you're alive!" Penovi managed out, becoming tongue twisted and opted to just shut up and enjoy the reunion.

As the dust cleared, Leoran was laying on his side, though looking quite different. As plain as day, a long, dragonic tail was now attached to his backside. His hair had also become a bit thicker and wilder, as well as his hands suddenly having their nails extended, almost as if like claws. When he groaned, a pair of fangs were easily visible, the sharpness matching his equally defined ears. To finish the transformation off, a small pair of horns were now firmly attached to his head. "Uggh...what? I'm...not a dragon? I guess Ladon has shown me mercy..." Leoran spoke slowly, sitting himself up slowly. "Judging by your mixed expressions, Priscilla's alive and I look different, huh? Guess I've got some explaining to do, hehe...".

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Having opted to set up camp nearby, Ramza's group and guests sat around a roaring, warm fire. Leoran sat at the 'head' of the group, his tail wiggling excitedly at it's freedom. "I apologize to all of you if I've caused any alarm or confusion. For those of you who don't know, my name is Leoran. Leoran of the Dragon Clan, which some may believe is more or less extinct. To put it simply, we are 'humans' with the power of dragons. These powers were born from an ancient tale of how a dragon fell in love with a maiden that had been sent to him as a sacrifice. He couldn't bring himself to eat the maiden, and kept her alive. The maiden, whom had willingly offered herself to the dragon so her family and people may be spared, was initially confused at the lack of being eaten. Soon, though, the two grew close...and well..." he coughed for a moment, shaking his head.

Mustadio immediately jumped in, grinning wickedly. "Bow Chica Bow Wow?" he more or less, asked, earning him an elbow from Agrias, Alma, and Meliadoul. Leoran coughed again, nodding slowly. "After that, well, that's how the Dragon Clan came to birth. Our blood line doesn't dilute through generations, either. Each Dragon Clan, or Dragoner as some have called us, born is just as 'pure' as their parents, and their parents, and their parents. However, in some rare cases, extremely powerful Dragoner's may be born with a unique bloodline. No one knows exactly what causes this, but it's believed to be a sign from Ladon that the world needs a hero. I'm of that rare bloodline, though I am no hero. I've done nothing but run my entire life...but no more." he said sadly, looking up with a determined look on his face.

"The Dragon God, Ladon, has spared me the steep price in using the ressurection ritual I used to revive Priscilla. Normally, it would strip me of my 'humanity' and reduce me to nothing more than a normal, pygmy dragon. If Ladon believes that I am truly a hero for our world, then I'll get over my guilt and do what I should have done a long time, ago. Fight. Fight for our existence." he finished, nodding his head slowly.

After Leoran finished, the group talked amongst themselves for the time being. Priscilla had finally managed to escape her brother, going over to swat at Leoran's tail. As if responding to the request to 'play', his tail was waving around in random patterns, leading to an interesting game of 'Catch Me If You Can!'.

After a few minutes had passed, Ramza looked up. "So, Leoran, what do you plan to do now? I'm not sure of any immense threats in Ivalice or Ordalia, or in the world in general. Are you saying something bad may happen soon?" he asked, blinking slowly.

Leoran slowly nodded his head. "Apparently so. I'll have to prepare myself for that. Ramza, you and your friends seem to have pure intentions. If you would, I'd like to join you all in your journey. In exchange...well, since Dregus is dead, I figure we'd use his hidden 'castle' as a base of operations, of sort. I'd entirely understand if I'm not allowed to join you all, and I'd show you the 'castle' regardless. It's the least I can do for all this trouble." he said, nodding slowly.

Ramza slowly looked around to each of his companions, searching their eyes for some sort of approval or denial. The Squire slowly closed his eyes, thinking to himself of all the possibilities. "If there is some impending threat that will happen in Ordalia or Ivalice, I can't see myself, or any of my friends just willing to sit back and let it happen. Leoran, we'll gladly accept both of your offers." he said, looking at the blue-haired dragon-boy. Ramza slowly stood, going over to Leoran and offering his hand in handshake.

A smile crept on Leoran's face as he stood, taking Ramza's hand and shaking it firmly. "Alright then. First thing in the morning I'll show you all to our new 'home', if you would." Leoran said, chuckling to himself.

Meliadoul smirked to herself, looking at Ramza and Leoran. "Well Ramza, it looks like all your good deeds are paying off today. Not even a week in Ordalia and you've already found us a place to stay, and a castle no less!" she said, smiling sheepishly.

The Squire coughed to himself, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess you're right, Meliadoul. Heh, I guess we'll be better off then I thought! Hahah!" he finished with a long series of laughter, which slowly turned to nervous laughter. "I was worried we'd all be living on the streets soon.".

Mustadio looked at Ramza, grinning. "Nah, we would have sold you on the streets for some easy gil. With how easy you attract girls, it should be ea---" WHAM!!! Three different fists bashed the back of the engineer's skull, knocking him out instantly. Besrodio sighed heavily, gently patting his son's head. "He really needs to watch that mouth of his.." the older man said, sighing heavily.

Alma, Agrias, and Meliadoul each grumbled to themselves, plotting painful ways to end Mustadio's life. These thoughts quickly faded, with Alma leaning over and hugging her tigthtly. "I'm just glad you're okay, Ramza. I was worried..." she said, looking at him sadly. Ramza smiled down at her, gently rubbing her head. "Don't worry about me, Alma! You know I won't die that easily!" he said, giving her an assuring wink.

Agrias raised an eyebrow, making an observation. "By the way, thank you for sewing my shirt, Alma. It was getting quite cold." she added at the end, coughing quietly as she shifted her body around. With a smile, Alma nodded towards her. "No problem, Agrias. Anything for a friend." the Cleric said, nodding again.

Priscilla smiled widely, having finished her game. "Great! First thing in the morning we'll be in a castle! I can't wait!" she exclaimed, beaming brightly at the thought of being back in somewhere that was more of her element.

With a sigh, Penovi gently tugging on the length of Priscilla's hair, shaking his head. "WE have to get back to mother and father. You should know that." he said, looking sternly at Priscilla. The moogle cosplayer pouted, turning away from her brother. "You're such a joy kill, Penovi." she said, turning to stick her tongue out at him before looking off in the other direction.

Leoran laughed quietly, smiling warmly at the display. "Yes, we'll have to see to making sure you two are properly escorted to a safer area before we part ways. Shame..." he said, shaking his head for a moment before strecthing, falling back in a yawn. "We may as well get some sleep now. We'll be busy tomorrow for sure.".

No one contested the idea. The fire was brought to a low burn as each member of the group went to take a well-deserved rest.

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In the dead of night, Ramza shuffled under his cloak, which he conviently used as a blanket of sorts. He slowly turned, looking at the sleeping form of Agrias. He sighed heavily, moving over to snuggle agaisnt her gently, thoughts racing through his head. "Damnit...I know you're more than strong enough to take care of yourself...but I can't help but feel responsible for what almost happened to you...I'm sorry Agrias. I guess I'm not the best boyfriend, heh..." the Squire said sadly, looking away from the beautiful Holy Knight's face.

A soft hand would gently hold Ramza's own hand, Agrias' eyes slowly opening as she looked straight into his eyes. "Ramza, please...don't say things like that. I was scared to, but I had no doubt in my mind you would have been able to put that bastard in his place." she said, smiling lovingly at him. The Holy Knight quickly closed the distance between the two, her lips pressing against his own.

As the two shared a passionate, heated kiss, Agrias slowly broke away, looking at Ramza closely. "I was afraid of one thing, though...that you wouldn't have been my first..." she said quietly, looking down with a light blush.

Ramza slowly rolled over, quickly pinning Agrias beneath him, a small smile on his face. "Then...I suppose we'll just have to wipe that fear out of your mind then, won't we?" he said softly, leaning down to gently place a soft kiss on the girl's lips. The heated passion between the two would erupt at that moment, as a simple kiss turned into a fierce tongue battle, the two quickly working on a combination of moving a touch further from their sleeping companions, as well as working eagerly at bringing the other as close as possible.

The boy slowly broke the kiss, looking down at his beloved. Thoughts raced through his head, his body feeling exceptionally hot all of a sudden. He was almost positive she felt the same way. "I love you, Agrais Oaks." he said quietly, slowly planting a series of small kisses along the Holy Knight's neck, moving down slowly along the collar bone.

A small groan escaped the girl's lips, her back arching slightly at the feeling of Ramza's lips moving slowly down her body. The warm feeling in her body only grew warmer, and hotter, at the sincere words he spoke. With a smile, she nodded her head slowly, "I love you too, Ramza Beoulve." she managed quietly, before being silenced by another groan as the touch of firm, careful hands began to work eagerly at her under shirt.

Ramza slowly slid his hands up along the curves of Agrias' body, slowly moving to raise her hands above her head. With that, he went to gently tug at the brim of her under shirt, looking straight into her eyes. "Are you absolutely sure about this? I'm not sure if either of us could stop ourselves if this goes any fur...".

At this point, Ramza was used to being cut off by a kiss, which was just what Agrias did at that instant, as well as a well-placed knee giving a firm rubbing upwards against a rather strained area of the squire's pants. The kiss was broken, a very serious look now in the eyes of the Holy Knight as she spoke, "Beoulve, I just told you how I felt. If you don't do me, and do me now, I swear I'm going to flip you over and take over. If you make me do that, I promise you won't be walking at all tomorrow.", she added with a serious tone, glaring up at Squire.

"...Damn that's hot." was all the Squire could muster before regaining his composure, gulping heavily as the grip on the Holy Knight's under shirt increased, slowly moving up to pull it off...

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A/N: Oh you can _bet_ there's an extended version of that last scene. I think I did a fairly good job on it too, but I'm not entirely sure if I can add it. I'll do a bit of research to see just how much 'action' I can add to a fic before offending someone and breaking the rules. -snicker-

To answer a question I'm sure will be asked, Leoran was speaking in Dragonic. Curious as to what he was saying? Well...

When healing Penovi and Mustadio: The Divine Light of the Dragon God, remove this man's pain...

When ressurecting Priscilla: By the glory of the Dragon God, may my blood and soul be used to bring this fallen girl back to our world. I, Leoran of the Dragon Clan, offer my humanity in exchange for her life. Ladon, please grant my wish and return her to us!

Finally, in regards to Leoran, some people may notice a connection between Leoran and Ryu from the Breath of Fire series. This was ENTIRELY coincidental and was not something I had planned on. Leoran is actually an old character I use in a various amount of roleplaying games and forums. The fact that both Ryu and Leoran have blue hair and are 'dragons' is just pure coincidence. Speaking of which, Penovi Kiku Poorport, Priscilla Poorport, and Leoran (Myself), are all characters on a Final Fantasy Tactics Sim Board Game called Heroes of Ivalice. Feel free to check it out sometime!

I hope you enjoyed Chapter 4, and let me know if you wanna see the extended ending of it! -cough- Also, I apologize that the chapter didn't show much of the majority of the characters. Also, if you didn't find the Leoran vs. Dregus fight scene too impressive, it's because Leoran was playing the role of "The Cool NPC that had really butt-kicking moves and is overpowered before joining". Trust me, any further fights are going to be a lot more balanced and interesting compared to a freakin' DRAGON whomping a human's butt. I was also in a rush to finish, so the quality of this chapter may not be up to my normal standards. I'll make sure to tweak it if you all think it's lacking.

See you next chapter!!!


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